The Fate Series : Part 1 A Touch of Fate
by ElaineDex
Summary: AU : Lorne is gone for good and Ellie must move on with her life. There’ll be no second chances and no way around them being parted…or is there and if so, is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants this time?
1. Chapter 1

Date : 29.04.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 1 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Harrison, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU :)**

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Are you sure that she's good to come back to Atlantis?" Lt. Colonel John Sheppard asked of Dr Daniel Jackson as they stood in the control room above the SGC's gate room.

Daniel looked down at his friend and colleague, Dr Ellie Lorne, who was stood on the gate ramp with her suitcases, waiting patiently to be beamed aboard the Daedalus.

He sighed deeply and shrugged.

"Its been nine months now since the Major was killed out there and physically she's doing fine. I mean, don't get me wrong, when she came back here a month or so after the funeral she was a complete wreck, but her work is back up to scratch now and I know that on your journey back to Atlantis she's looking forward to fitting and trying out the crystal that she has created," he said and Sheppard rubbed his chin worriedly and glanced down at the petite brunette.

"I still cant believe that Caldwell is letting her do that," Sheppard said and Daniel smiled,

"I think anything that would make the Daedalus quicker than the Odyssey would catch Caldwell's interest."

Sheppard nodded then said, "What about emotionally? How's Ellie doing…really?" he asked and Daniel removed his glasses and pinched at the bridge of his nose before replying,

"She still has her moments, but this is Ellie and Lorne that we're talking about here…they were like Rachel and Ross and now its over, for good."

"Rachel and who?" Sheppard asked, looking back at Daniel inquisitively.

"You don't watch Friends?"

Sheppard shook his head, "No. You do….obviously…"

"Well…on occasion…Vala likes it…," Daniel said, clearing his throat as General Landry bustled into the room, Walter following behind.

"Colonel, Doctor," he greeted them.

"Sir," Sheppard and Daniel replied in unison.

Landry turned to the window and looked down at Ellie and the couple of other people who had now gathered around her to wait for beam-up.

"You people good to go then? Colonel Caldwell is getting twitchy up there," he said and Sheppard bent and picked up his rucksack from off of the floor by his feet.

Daniel looked to Sheppard, thinking that only he could now stop Ellie's return to Atlantis.

Sheppard sighed and said,

"Yeah Sir, I think we're ready."

"Good, well, get yourself down there then I can give the all clear," Landry replied and Sheppard nodded.

He glanced at Daniel and was about to move toward the door when Daniel said,

"Make sure you look after her John."

Sheppard looked over his shoulder and replied,

"I will…we all will," and then he went down to the gate room and took his place next to Ellie on the ramp.

She looked up at him and smiled, but he noted that the smile did not reach her eyes and it saddened him to think that the lively sparkle that she had once had might never come back.

He watched as she waved to Daniel and Landry and then the air around them grew fuzzy and then they were aboard the Daedalus.

**OoOoOoO**

Lyssa Hunter placed her hands on her slim hips and glanced around her best friends quarters with a keen eye.

She was looking for anything that might upset Ellie when she arrived back there for the first time since Lorne's death.

She had already split the couple's clothing up and put Lorne's things into a wardrobe on their own. Ellie could deal with them when she felt ready to, but for now they needed to stay well out of her sight.

She saw Lorne's easel and a box of paints by the balcony doors and realised that she needed to put them out of the way too and she crossed the room and reached for the easel.

Her breath caught as she turned it and saw that the canvas held a half-finished painting of Ellie.

Tears pooled in her eyes as it hit home and not for the first time, that Lorne was actually gone and the beautiful portrait of his wife would never be finished.

A flash of rage at the Wraith for taking her friend from them had Lyssa swiping at her tears angrily and she gritted her teeth as she put the easel, canvas and paint box into the wardrobe along with Lorne's clothes.

As she straightened, she spotted a framed photograph from Ellie and Lorne's wedding and she crossed to the table it sat on and picked it up, sighing deeply as she did so.

Just then a deep voice said,

"How's it going?," and Lyssa looked up to see Major Frank Statham observing her.

He was leaning casually against the doorway, his arms folded across his chest and his head cocked to one side as he regarded her.

Frank was SGA-2's new leader and had been so now for some eight months. He was from the UK, a Londoner to be precise and Lyssa liked him.

He couldn't replace Lorne in everyone's hearts of course, but their team had needed a new leader and the SGC had deemed him the right man for the job.

He was tall, his dark hair cut so short that you almost couldn't see it and he had a nice, easy smile and his hazel eyes were full of a mischief that Lyssa found quite amusing yet sexy all at the same time.

"I think I'm about done…I'm just not sure what to do with this," she replied, holding up the photo frame and Statham pushed away from the doorway and crossed the room toward her.

He took the frame from her and looked at the photograph inside.

"So this is our teams' Doc," he said, his statement more of an observation than a question and Lyssa nodded.

"She looks….nice…" he offered, his first thoughts being that he did not find the brunette in the photograph attractive and he cleared his throat, aware that under the circumstances his thoughts were not at all appropriate, but that was just the way his mind worked with women.

He wished it wasn't so….he was basically a good guy, but he loved women and they seemed to love him…for the most part.

He was a ladies man. He knew that, everyone knew that and people could choose to like him or hate him for that fact…he didn't really care.

He wasn't the settling down type, never had been, never would be and as long as the women that he got 'involved' with were well aware of this then he didn't have any problems…or at least he hadn't up to now.

He smiled at Lyssa as she took the photograph from him.

It hadn't taken the Calestrian long to figure him out once they had started working together and despite Lyssa's disapproval of his choice of lifestyle and her ignoring his best attempts to come on to her, they had become good friends over the last few months and he knew that she was missing Ellie and Major Lorne.

"Did you ever work with Lorne on earth?" Lyssa asked, crossing to the sofa, the photograph still in her hands and Statham shook his head.

"I knew of him, but no, I never met the guy."

"Ellie adored him and he her. I don't know how she's going to cope when she gets back here," Lyssa said and Statham moved to sit next to her and he put a strong arm around her shoulders.

"Well, she'll have you…," he said, his hand closing over hers so that he could angle the photograph to get another look at it.

Ellie, to him, looked way too much like the girl next door, especially in the ivory wedding dress and veil with her hair all curly and adorned with baby pink roses. She made a beautiful bride, there was no doubt about that, but she just didn't do it for him.

He preferred a woman who knew exactly what to do to a man, a woman who had long legs that could wrap themselves around him and….

He blinked to clear his thoughts as he realised that Lyssa was glaring at him.

"Don't you get any ideas about Ellie. She's off limits you hear!" she told him, mis-reading the far away expression he had been wearing and he shook his head.

"Trust me…she's not…I mean…she's a widow, what do you take me for?" he replied, trying to sound outraged, but Lyssa kept her eyes narrowed at him for a moment or two before saying,

"Hmm, well, just remember that when she arrives."

"No problem," he said.

Just then Lyssa's ear-piece buzzed.

It was Teyla.

"I just thought that you would like to know that Chuck just informed me that the Daedalus is around an hour away from the city," she said and Lyssa shot up from the sofa, leaving Statham looking rather perplexed.

"Ellie's crystal worked!" she exclaimed and Statham looked at her with a frown upon his face.

"What?" he asked and Lyssa scrunched her face up at him as she tapped her ear-piece.

"Thanks Teyla," she said into it and Statham nodded in understanding as he realised that she was talking to someone else.

"Ellie has been developing a crystal…she told me about it in her emails. She said it would hopefully cut the travelling time from earth to here down to three weeks instead of six and that she had persuaded Colonel Caldwell to let her try it out on the Daedalus and it looks like it worked!" Lyssa said sounding excited and Statham stood and folded his arms.

"So our Doc is just as clever as McKay?" he asked, sounding thoughtful and Lyssa nodded, placing the photo frame back onto the table.

"Oh yeah, Ellie is great," Lyssa enthused and Statham smiled.

"Good…"

"Good?" Lyssa asked, regarding him and Statham nodded.

"Yeah…I kind of have this thing that I want my team to be just as famous as SGA-1", he replied and Lyssa placed her hands on her hips indignantly and said,

"We already are…we just haven't gotten ourselves into as much trouble as they have yet!"

"Yet?" Statham asked warily and Lyssa grinned.

"My partner in crime is on her way back and we have catching up to do," she informed him and Statham groaned.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to have my work cut out controlling you two?" he asked and Lyssa shrugged innocently.

"Come on, lets go get some food before the Daedalus arrives," she said, heading for the door and Statham pushed himself up from the sofa and followed her.

**OoOoOo**

Ellie stared out of one of the Daedalus' mess hall windows, her eyes taking in the magnificence of Atlantis way below them.

She was looking forward to seeing Lyssa and her other friends again, but she knew that being back on Atlantis once again would bring back some very bitter sweet memories of her late husband.

The city would not be the same without Lorne's presence around its hallways.

She sighed deeply, starting when Sheppard said from behind her,

"Hey, how's our star scientist?"

Ellie smiled and shook her head.

"Don't ever let Rodney hear you call me that," she scolded and Sheppard folded his arms and bumped her with his shoulder.

They had spent quite a bit of time together on their three weeks aboard the Daedalus, more due to the fact that there was little else to do on the journey back to Atlantis save from talking and watching DVD's.

"I wont tell him if you don't," he said and Ellie linked arms with him and leant her head against his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked, frowning as they looked out of the window and she nodded.

"Just a little nervous I guess…it wont be the same down there without Evan."

Sheppard sighed and rested his chin against the top of her head.

"You'll get there Ellie," he said and she closed her eyes against the tears that always threatened whenever anyone said anything remotely comforting to her.

"I know…" she whispered.

They stood in silence until Caldwell's voice came across the ships intercom system.

"Could all personnel beaming down to the city please make their way to the bridge."

"That would be us," Sheppard said and Ellie cleared her throat and raised her head.

"Here goes then," she said and Sheppard smiled.

"To infinity and beyond."

Ellie shook her head.

"You really like those Toy Story movies don't you," she said as they headed for the mess hall doorway.

Sheppard shrugged,

"I have to get Ronon to watch those…I can just see his face when…"

Ellie tuned out as he went into re-living movie mode, her mind focusing instead on how things would be once she settled back into life on Atlantis…

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Date : 04.05.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 2 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Harrison, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sheppard dropped his rucksack onto the floor just in time to catch his girlfriend, trainee medical Doctor Lexi Roberts as she barrelled into him.

"I'm sooo glad you're back!" she squealed excitedly and Sheppard smiled a little uneasily as he returned her embrace.

He and Ellie exchanged a glance as he and Lexi moved away.

Ellie sighed and turned away just as Lyssa was approaching her.

"It's so good to see you," she said as she and Lyssa hugged.

"You too…I missed you," Lyssa replied, giving her friend a tight squeeze before she released her and stepped back a little.

Ellie smiled, determined not to cry at the sight of a friendly face.

"Your hair has grown!" she said, taking in the fact that her best friends' hair was now shoulder length as opposed to just under her ears as it had been when she had left for earth.

As Lyssa tucked her hair behind her ears self-consciously, Ellie glanced around Atlantis' gate room, fighting the memories of the last time she had been stood there. It had been the day that she had returned to earth with Lorne's body…or rather what had been left of his body after the Wraith had cruelly sucked his entire life-force from it.

Lyssa could see from the look on Ellie's face where her thoughts were heading and she quickly picked up one of her suitcases and said,

"Let's get you to your quarters before McKay catches up with you…I heard he's gunning for you because you installed your crystal on the Daedalus and you know how protective he is of 'his' ship."

Ellie looked back at Lyssa and replied,

"I thought he might be."

"He's just jealous because you thought of the idea first," Lyssa said as they started to ascend the steps.

"Well, I'm sure if he'd had as much thinking time as I've had over the last nine months then he would have thought of the same thing," Ellie replied, waving to Zelenka who was stood next to Chuck at the gate control console.

"Maybe," Lyssa replied.

They entered the level changer and were soon stood before the door of Ellie's quarters.

"Are you sure you want to stay here? I can go see Woolsey about assigning you a different room…" Lyssa said, but Ellie shook her head.

"Evan's gone Lyss and it doesn't matter where I stay, it wont make the memories of what happened go away."

Lyssa nodded and Ellie took a deep breath and waved her hand over the control panel.

The door swished open and she stepped inside, Lyssa following.

Ellie barely glanced around as she put the suitcase she carried onto the bed.

"I'll unpack later, how about we go get some cake?" she said and Lyssa nodded, putting down the case that she carried.

"Sounds good."

They left the room and headed for the mess hall, people greeting Ellie as they passed them.

They eventually got their slices of cake and two coffees and sat down to catch up.

"So, how's Matthew?" Ellie asked of her other team-mate, Lt. Franks and Lyssa licked chocolate icing from her fork before replying.

"He's doing okay…I know that he still worries sometimes that he didn't do enough to help Evan that day."

Ellie made a 'tutting' noise and shook her head.

"I'll put his mind at ease when I see him," she said decidedly, taking another mouthful of her own cake and Lyssa smiled at her friend's thoughtfulness.

"So…you ready to meet our new team-leader?" she asked, watching as Ellie's face clouded over briefly at the thought of Lorne's replacement.

"What's he like…really? I mean your emails about him were pretty vague," she asked and Lyssa put her fork down.

"I didn't think you'd want to talk too much about the man who's filling Evan's shoes," Lyssa replied and Ellie sighed.

"You don't have to baby me Lyss, I need one person to treat me normally and I would like that person to be you."

Lyssa nodded in understanding, she had felt that way when her family had been destroyed by the Wraith and Ronon had been there for her. He had become much more than a friend in the end, but that was another story and it was one that was also in the past.

"Well, Major Frank Statham is definitely an acquired taste. He's a good guy underneath and a good leader and Matthew and I like him, but…" she trailed off, wondering how to word her next sentence.

"But what?" Ellie asked, intrigued and Lyssa cleared her throat.

"But, he's a bit of a one for the women…or that's how it seems."

"Oh…" Ellie replied, savouring the last of her cake as she wondered what Major Statham looked like.

"Is he good looking?" she asked eventually and Lyssa made a snorting noise before replying,

"Yes in a rough and ready kind of way."

"Do you think I'll get along with him okay?" Ellie asked and Lyssa shrugged.

"You'll find out later, our team is scheduled for a meeting with Woolsey, a kind of welcome back for you and for you to be formally introduced to Frank."

"I see…well, I'd better go and check back in with Personnel and then get changed. Is Major Statham a stickler for uniform?" Ellie said, remembering how Lorne had let her wear pretty much whatever the hell she liked when they were off-world, a fact that everyone knew about but generally accepted because Lorne and Sheppard for that matter, had let it slide.

"I don't know…the issue has never come up before," Lyssa replied, her eyes twinkling at the thought of how Statham would react to seeing Ellie in one of her sundresses, military boots and tac vest.

"Well, he can take me the way he finds me," Ellie said, trying to sound braver than she actually felt about meeting her new C/O.

"I'm sure he will," Lyssa said as they stood to leave the mess hall.

"It is good to see you again Lyss…I really missed you these last months," Ellie said and Lyssa put an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"You too…and you know I'm here if you ever don't want to be treated normally don't you," Lyssa replied and Ellie smiled.

"Yeah, I know."

The two women parted company at the mess hall doors with Lyssa promising to knock for Ellie later, when it was almost time to attend the meeting with Woolsey.

Ellie went back to what had been hers and Lorne's quarters and looked around for a moment or two. There wasn't really anything on display to suggest that Lorne had ever been in the room, let alone shared it with her.

'I have Lyssa to thank for that no doubt,' she surmised, grateful for the time her friend had taken to clear the room before she had arrived.

Her eyes flicked to the coffee table over by the sofa where a framed picture sat and Ellie knew what it was without having to look at it.

Turning her back on hers and Lorne's wedding photograph she began to unzip one of her suitcases.

It was time to unpack.

A while later, showered and changed into a long gypsy skirt and vest top, she decided to head out to try and catch up with some of her other friends before the dreaded meeting with SGA-2's new leader.

**OoOoO**

Major Statham glanced at his watch before snatching up a bottle of water from his bedside drawers and heading for the door.

'Just enough time for a run before the meeting,' he thought, starting to jog along the hallway almost as soon as he left his quarters.

He hadn't gone far when he unscrewed the bottle-top and took a swig of the water.

His raised arm made him totally unaware that Ellie was rounding the corner just up ahead, that was until he barrelled into her and sent her sprawling onto her behind, him landing spread-eagled across her, the bottled water drowning them both.

For a moment Ellie was too stunned to speak and she lay on her back until the man who had ran into her raised his muscular frame from off of her and rested his weight on his elbows.

"You alright?" he asked, his eyes widening a little as he realised who he had 'bumped' into.

"You…you idiot!" was Ellie's first response as she suddenly found her voice and heat made her cheeks burn.

"I'm…" Statham began to apologise, but Ellie shook her head and pushed at his shoulders, the fact that he didn't resist allowing her to shove him up and off of her.

As they both got to their feet, Ellie realised that her white vest top was soaked and her lace bra could be seen through the now transparent material.

"I don't believe this…I just had a shower and changed…you do know that you're not supposed to jog in the halls don't you? I mean that's what the upper levels are for…jeez…I should report you to…to…." Ellie trailed off as she realised that the man was staring at her and she felt her cheeks blush an even deeper shade of pink.

He was tall, his dark hair cut very short and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he regarded her with barely concealed amusement.

"You, you jerk!" she said hotly, spinning on the balls of her feet and marching back the way she'd come.

"Whoa!" Statham muttered to himself.

That wasn't exactly how he had envisaged his first meeting with the little whirlwind that appeared to be Dr. Ellie Lorne, but it had certainly beat the usual, 'Hello, pleased to meet you,' routine.

Shaking his head, he picked up his dropped water bottle and continued on his way to the upper levels.

He couldn't wait to see the Doc's face when they met again at the briefing later.

**OoOoOoO**

"Yeah he just barrelled straight into me and knocked me onto my ass," Ellie complained a while later to Lyssa as they sat in the briefing room.

"Are you hurt?" Lyssa asked, but Ellie shook her head.

"No, only my pride, but he really shouldn't have been jogging in the hallways, I mean I assume the rules haven't changed in my absence?"

"Not that I know of," Lyssa replied and Ellie sighed grumpily, looking to the doorway as Lt. Franks and Woolsey entered the room.

"Ah, Dr. Lorne, Miss Hunter, you're already here," Woolsey said as he and Franks took their seats. "That just leaves Major Statham."

"Obviously," Lyssa whispered and Ellie couldn't help the smile that twitched at her lips at her friends' remark.

That same smile froze with horror though as the man who had ran into her earlier appeared in the doorway and their eyes met and held as Woolsey said,

"Ah, Major Statham, better late than never I suppose."

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Date : 05.05.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 3 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Harrison, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lyssa looked from Ellie to Statham and back again and she watched as her friends' mouth made an 'O' shape from which no sound came out.

Statham's mouth twitched at the look on Ellie's face and the move made something click in her mind.

"You?!" she said accusingly and Woolsey raised an eyebrow as Lt. Franks and Lyssa exchanged a glance.

"You two have already met?" Woolsey asked as Statham took a seat at the table.

"We kind of 'bumped' into one another earlier," he said and Woolsey nodded, frowning at the incredulous look that Ellie now wore.

"You didn't give me a chance to apologise or to introduce myself," Statham said, reaching across the table and holding out his hand to Ellie who looked at it for a moment or two before sliding hers into it.

"Hello, I'm Frank," he said and Ellie felt colour steal into her cheeks as she replied simply,

"Ellie."

He nodded at her and released her hand and Ellie cleared her throat and ignored the look that Lyssa was throwing her way.

"Right, well, now that we all formally know one another I would like to begin…" Woolsey said, starting the meeting and for the next hour they went over their teams' schedule.

Ellie had to have a weeks re-training before they could go off world, but they had all expected that much and so it came as no surprise.

Woolsey finished off by saying,

"It's good to see you again Doctor and I just wanted you to know how very sorry we all are for the loss of Major Lorne, it certainly hasn't been the same around here over the last nine months."

Ellie nodded, her throat tightening with the now all too familiar ache that she got whenever anyone mentioned Evan, but she forced herself to say,

"Thank you," the effort making her sound like she was being strangled though and Frank frowned.

He began to wonder whether Ellie was really ready to come back to the team and he decided to watch her closely over the next week. Coming back to Atlantis was one thing, but being an active team-member that others relied upon was a whole different ball game and he needed to be certain that she was up to the job.

Time would tell.

oooooo

Later that day, Ellie finally caught up with McKay.

"Ah, if it isn't Einstein," he said sarcastically, as she walked into his lab and Ellie walked right up to him and hugged him, causing him to make a small noise in the back of his throat which Ellie knew meant she was making him nervous.

"I missed you Rodney," she said and he made the noise again, patting her tentatively on the back just before she pulled away from him.

"Yes, well…it was a little different around here without you messing up my programmes and the like," he offered, turning back to his laptop and Ellie smiled, knowing that it was his way of saying that he had missed her too.

"So…" she trailed off and he glanced back at her.

"So?" he queried and she held out her hands in mock exasperation.

"So, do you want to come up to the Daedalus with me and check out my crystal?" she said and he pretended to think for a moment.

"I wondered how long it would be before you came and asked me to check it over for you to make sure you got it working correctly and the like…in fact I am surprised that Caldwell hasn't radioed down already," he said, grabbing his tablet from the desk and Ellie shook her head at him and linked his arm as they left the lab.

**OoOoOoO**

The following week passed quickly for Ellie, the re-training keeping her busy. She was glad of the distraction though as she still hadn't been brave enough to open the wardrobe that Lyssa had told her had Lorne's things in it.

She had come to terms with his death, just about, but sorting through his belongings felt like such a final thing to do and she knew that she wasn't ready for that just yet.

One afternoon, she was on her way to meet Lyssa when Statham caught up to her in the hallway.

They hadn't really spoken much even though he had looked in on practically every training session that she had had.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked and she looked up at him.

"Okay…thanks…look, about the first time we met…we should clear the air…" she began but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't worry about that, you were right, I shouldn't have been jogging around down here," he said and Ellie shrugged.

"It probably wouldn't have bothered me usually…but, well, my nerves were a little taught that day y'know," she said, trailing off and Statham frowned, her admission only making him think that the next session he had lined up for her was indeed the right way to go.

He didn't need someone on his team whose nerves were shot at.

"I had a word with Woolsey and we, well I, think it would be a good thing if you had a one to one with the cities' psychologist, just to see how you're doing in that respect too," he said, his frown deepening as Ellie seemed to go very pale before all the colour rushed back into her cheeks at an alarming rate and she stuttered,

"A, a psychologist? What the…?" and she took a few steps backwards, away from him before continuing, "I cant believe….I mean, how dare you! I lost my husband, not my mind! I was right, you are a jerk and I will not go see a psychologist!" and with that she stormed away from him.

Statham blew out a huge breath of air and raked his fingers across his scalp in frustration.

"Damn," he muttered.

He hadn't meant to upset her. He'd thought it might help her and the team. But he guessed he'd been wrong.

Their first off-world mission was scheduled for later that day and he wondered whether he should have Woolsey take Ellie off the team.

He was still pondering the same question though as he stood in the gate room two hours later with Lyssa and Lt. Franks.

He was just beginning to think that Ellie had taken herself off of the team when she appeared on the gate room steps with Ronon and Sheppard and his jaw dropped as he saw her attire.

Lyssa smirked as she watched Statham's expressions change from shock to horror to incredulity and back again as Ellie approached them wearing her trademark sundress, military boots and tac vest, her back pack held in one hand.

Ronon and Sheppard exchanged a glance as Statham continued to merely stare at Ellie as though she had sprouted a second head.

"Dial her up Chuck," Sheppard instructed and Chuck acknowledged the command with a nod of his head before starting the dialling process.

The gate was half lit when Statham finally found his voice.

"What the hell are you wearing?" he asked, then added, "That is not acceptable off-world attire Doctor."

"You don't like it?" Ellie asked innocently and Statham felt his hackles rise at her obvious taunt.

Deciding not to rise to her bait in front of the others he replied calmly,

"We will discuss this further when we get back here later."

"Fine," Ellie said, not even looking at him and Lyssa eyed her friend, wondering what was with the iciness in her tone.

No doubt she would find out soon enough.

000000

Later, as Ellie collected soil samples, Lyssa approached Statham and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You told her to go see the psychologist?" she asked, her voice low and he groaned and looked away.

"I thought it would benefit her and us," he replied and Lyssa sighed.

"Have you ever lost a loved one Frank?" she asked and he glanced back at her.

"I've lost men in battle…" he said, but Lyssa shook her head.

"I know that must have been hard and a terrible thing to go through, but I mean have you lost someone very close to you, someone who was to all intents and purposes your entire life?" she said and he sighed and glanced over at Ellie who looked strangely happy in amongst the tall grass and soil pots that were gathered around her.

"No," he admitted and Lyssa folded her arms.

"Then cut her some slack and have a little faith in her. The first time she lets you down I'll be the first one to take her to the psychologist, you have my word."

Statham sighed and nodded before saying,

"But what's with the outfit? Does she always dress like that or is it just for my benefit?"

Lyssa shook her head and laughed,

"You don't like it?" she asked and Statham glared at her.

"Don't you start," he said.

Lyssa winked at him and sidled away from him as he shook his head at her and swore under his breath.

He turned back to Ellie and shouted over to her,

"You ready to move on yet Doc?" and Ellie raised a hand and wiggled her fingers at him.

"What does that mean?" Statham muttered to himself. "Yes, no, not sure…not bothered, don't care…?"

"She meant two minutes Sir," Lt. Franks informed him from his position nearby and Statham nodded.

"Of course she did…I knew that," he replied, a touch of sarcasm tingeing his tone and Lt. Franks smothered a smile.

Statham sighed and pushed away from the tree where he had been leaning.

"Two minutes Doc," he bellowed, not missing the glare that Ellie sent his way.

**OoOoOoO**

**Same Time -**

**Parallel City of Atlantis**

"Get the hell out of here Major, do you hear me?" Sheppard shouted from underneath the pile of rubble that had once been their jumper bay.

"I wont leave you Sir," came Lorne's response and Sheppard growled more with pain than with annoyance at the loyal Major's refusal to get away from the crumbling city whilst there was still one useable jumper available.

"It's not a request Major, its an order," he tried, his voice growing weaker as blood continued to seep from the wounds to his head and chest.

"There's only the two of us left here Sir…I'm not going to leave you and that's an end to it," Lorne replied, waiting for some kind of glib comeback from his C/O.

It never came.

"Colonel?" Lorne tried, not wanting to acknowledge what his common sense was trying to tell him.

"John?" he ventured a couple of seconds later.

Still nothing.

Lorne remained statue-like for the longest time, his blue eyes staring sightlessly at the devastation all around him.

Everyone was gone now except for him.

He should feel lucky to be alive…but he didn't.

'What was lucky about being the only member of the Atlantis expedition to survive the horrific surprise attack from their so called allies, the Genii?' he wondered, his fists curling into tight balls at his sides as the image of Acastus Koyla's face swam before his eyes.

He vowed to somehow catch up with the man who had orchestrated this carnage and make him pay, but first he needed to try and contact earth. Stargate Command needed to know what had gone on here.

He went to move and realised abruptly that the last time he had seen the gate, it too was in the process of being covered in rubble and he sat down as quickly as he'd stood, defeat washing over him.

'Who are you trying to kid Ev?' he asked of himself, his voice harsh as he let despair cloud his mind. 'Even if the gate was accessible you don't have a clue how to get it working again, you'd need all those pain in the butt scientists that you never got along with over the last few years.'

His mind automatically went through the main list of Doctors.

Zelenka, McKay, Kavanagh and last but not least, the biggest pain in the butt of them all, Ellie…his ex-wife.

"Damn it!" he cursed out loud.

Their deaths made no sense…no sense at all.

Tears pooled in his eyes and he swiped at them with the back of his hand, transferring dust from the rubble onto the skin of his face.

For the first time in his life, Evan Lorne did not know what to do next and he didn't like the feeling…not one little bit.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Date : 14.05.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 4 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"And don't slam the door!" Major Statham yelled, seconds before it banged shut loudly behind Ellie's angry retreating form.

Their uneasy relationship had gone from bad to worse over the last few weeks and their 'disagreements' had become somewhat of a talking point around Atlantis.

Sheppard had asked Statham a couple of times whether he thought that Ellie or indeed he, should step off the team but Statham was determined to make it work, a fact that Sheppard admired him greatly for.

This new argument was about, as always, one of their recent off-world assignments. Statham had refused to recommend that their team return to a planet where Ellie wanted to do some more research and she had not taken his decision well…as usual.

As she marched away from his office, Ellie cursed colourfully and muttered under her breath,

"I am still so right, he is a jerk. In fact, he's the biggest jerk that I have ever had the misfortune to work with!"

In his office, Statham raked a hand through his impossibly short hair and whirled around as the door re-opened.

"I am not willing to discuss it any further…we are NOT going back and that is final!" he said determinedly, then sighed as he saw that it was Sheppard that was standing in his doorway and not Ellie.

"You two having another row?" Sheppard asked, shoving his hands into his combats' pockets as Statham rammed some files into a nearby cabinet drawer angrily.

"The woman drives me crazy," he replied and Sheppard raised an eyebrow but Statham shook his head in denial.

"No! No way…not 'that kind' of crazy. She gets excited about mud…mud for God's sake and she ALWAYS wants to go back to the uninhabited planets, I mean, what is the point?!"

Sheppard smiled as he remembered how he had heard a similar outburst from Lorne when he had first started working with Ellie and then he had ended up marrying her.

Choosing not to freak Statham out, he sympathised instead.

"McKay's the same…not quite with the mud, but he likes it when there's no-one else around except us, makes him feel safer."

Statham sighed and sat back down behind his desk.

"Anyhow Sir, what can I do for you on this wonderful morning?" he asked and Sheppard smiled.

"I need a favour. One of Lexi's friends from the infirmary thinks that you're kinda hot and well, basically, if you don't come for a drink with us tonight in the bar I'm dead," he said, shrugging helplessly and Statham ran a hand over his day old stubble.

"Is it the tall red-head?" he asked, sounding vaguely tempted and Sheppard realised that he actually had no idea which of Lexi's numerous friends it was, but rather than endure yet another night of earache from his girlfriend, he smiled broadly and said,

"Yeah, that's the one."

Statham nodded and stood and rounding his desk he came to stand before Sheppard again.

"Alright, I could do with relaxing a little," he said as they moved to the door.

They stepped out into the hallway and Sheppard said,

"Great, you're a life-saver. See you around eight-ish in the bar then," and Statham nodded, his attention suddenly caught by Ellie who was stood further down the hallway with Ronon.

He watched as she smiled up at the Satedan and he couldn't help but think how pretty she looked.

As Sheppard walked away, Statham caught himself on.

'Pretty?!' he thought. 'Now where the hell had that come from? He didn't do pretty.'

Ellie was over a foot shorter than him, with unruly brunette curls that bounced as though they had a life of their own whenever she was ranting at him and although she was in no way overweight, she had curves to die for.

'Get a grip Frank,' he told himself sternly. 'She's not your type and for that you should be grateful!'

Clearing his throat he moved back inside of his office and shut the door behind him.

He needed a slim, leggy woman, preferably wrapped naked around him and tonight from the sounds of it, could be his lucky night.

ooooooo

Ellie and Lyssa sat together in the bar, both nursing a soft drink each.

"What do you make of her?" Lyssa asked eventually, nodding over to Lexi and her red-headed friend and Ellie glanced over at the other woman.

"Um, I don't really know her…why?" she replied.

"I don't like her," Lyssa replied bluntly and Ellie eyed her best friend with interest.

"What did she do to you?" she asked, pretending not to know and Lyssa shrugged and swirled what was left of her drink around the bottom of her glass.

Ellie sighed and said,

"It may interest you to know that when John and I were on the Daedalus, he told me that he and Lexi are having problems…"

"Why would that interest me?" Lyssa asked a little too quickly and colour tinged her cheekbones as Ellie raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're telling me that it doesn't?" she asked sceptically and Lyssa stuck her tongue out.

"How come you know me so well?" she asked and Ellie smiled.

"I'm your best friend Lyss, I'm supposed to know you better than even you do," she said and Lyssa nodded.

"True."

"So how long have you fancied him?" Ellie asked and Lyssa sighed.

"A while now."

"Why didn't you mention this in your emails?" Ellie said and Lyssa looked away.

"You had enough on your plate Ellie and its hardly important," she said and Ellie tutted in annoyance.

"Of course its important…and I would have been grateful of the dis…" she trailed off as Major Statham strode into the bar wearing jeans and a grey T-shirt and a brooding expression upon his ruggedly handsome face.

Lyssa watched as Ellie's mouth stayed open, but no sound came out and she followed her friend's gaze to see Statham striding toward Lexi and the red-head, Sheppard entering the room not far behind him.

Ellie felt the flicker of something she would rather not acknowledge deep in the pit of her stomach and she stomped down on it hard and tried to swallow, but she found her mouth to be as dry as a bone and she knocked back the remainder of her drink quickly and looked away.

"Something wrong?" Lyssa asked, dragging her eyes from Sheppard's butt to see Ellie shaking her head.

"No…nothing at all."

"I don't believe you," Lyssa replied and Ellie felt heat steal into her cheeks.

"Its him, Major Statham. I just…I mean I…" she sighed with frustration before saying, "I hate him!"

Lyssa frowned.

"Hate's a strong word."

"I know…but he just irritates the hell out of me," Ellie replied, trying to ignore him, but she could see out of the corner of her eye that he had taken the empty seat next to the red-headed nurse and for some reason the fact annoyed her greatly.

"And you irritate the hell out of him, so I'd say you're fairly even," Lyssa laughed and Ellie looked at her.

"He told you that?" she asked and Lyssa shook her head.

"No…its just plainly obvious to anyone who is within earshot of the two of you whenever you're together."

Ellie's blush deepened.

"Its nothing like working with Evan, that's all. I'm sure its just teething problems," she said and Lyssa touched her arm.

"You wanna get out of here?" she asked and Ellie smiled.

"Yes."

"Good, because I cant stand seeing Pesky Lexi wrapping herself all around John for one minute longer," Lyssa replied, standing and Ellie's smile widened as they left the bar.

From where he sat, Statham watched as Ellie smiled her 'pretty' smile at Lyssa and he sighed inwardly.

She grated on his nerves like no other woman could and he wasn't sure why.

'You don't want to know why,' he told himself sternly as the red-head that Lexi had just introduced him to ran a fingernail along his jaw.

'Crap, I missed her name,' he cursed inwardly.

'Still,' he thought, 'Who needs names for just one night of unadulterated pleasure…'

**ooooooo**

The next morning Ellie, Lyssa and Franks were sat in the briefing room with Woolsey, waiting for Statham to appear before they could start their weekly team meeting.

He eventually arrived five minutes late and sat down looking a little worse for wear.

"You look terrible Sir," Lt. Franks smirked, then added, "Long hard night was it?"

"Yeah, you could say…but I had a great time. Sorry I'm late by the way, damn alarm didn't go off," Statham replied before continuing, "You cant beat going on a blind date and meeting a sexy, hot blooded, long-legged…" he stopped as Ellie interrupted distastefully,

"I think we get the idea of what it was you were up to last night."

Statham snorted derisively and said,

"You really should relax those morals of yours Doctor, being so uptight all of the time makes you really unattractive."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them and he cursed silently as he watched Ellie's face redden with embarrassment and he heard Lyssa's sharp intake of breath.

Thankfully, Woolsey intervened and said,

"Come along now children, let's play nicely and get this meeting underway shall we?"

They all mumbled their agreement and he began with their last mission reports.

As his voice droned on, Statham stole a glance at Ellie, his conscience well and truly pricked because of his harsh comment to her and he watched as she tucked a stray curl behind one ear.

She looked extremely vulnerable at that moment and he wondered what she was thinking as she chewed on her pen-top, her eyes staring sightlessly at the paperwork before her.

Just then though she glanced up and their eyes met.

For a moment they stared at one another, no anger or resentment between them, but then the moment passed and Ellie's eyes narrowed and Statham's lips twitched in a smile as they all but spat fire in his general direction.

Ellie was the first to look away.

She was angry and hurt by his comment and he might be her C/O but right then she wanted to beat the crap out of him with her bare hands, despite the differences in their size.

They had bickered about everything from day one and she was sick of it. She just wanted their team to have the same camaraderie that it had when Lorne was their leader.

'Maybe I should step off the team…' she pondered, her mind wandering and it wasn't until she realised that the room was silent that it dawned on her that Woolsey had asked her something.

"Um…what was that?" she asked, blushing again and Statham smirked at her.

"Mr Woolsey would like to know why you keep insisting we re-visit uninhabited planets all the time," he said and Ellie took a deep calming breath.

Then World War Three erupted in the briefing room…

**Parallel Atlantis**

**Same Time**

Lorne placed the last of the supplies he'd managed to collect onto the bench seat in the rear of the only remaining jumper and then sighed deeply.

The time had come to leave what was left of the city and move on.

He had spent the last few weeks moving around the rubble of the various levels, looking for survivors, but sadly there had been none.

Finally he had made the decision to gather what food, ammo and medical supplies he could find and get away from the place he had once called home.

He had no idea where he was headed, but one thing was for certain and that was that he could not remain at the place where all his friends had lost their lives.

It was just too painful.

He stood at the rear door of the jumper and looked around one last time, his eyes misting over with tears and he quickly swiped at them with the back of his hand.

Clearing his throat he activated the rear door closure and moved to the cock-pit of the jumper.

"Time to go Evan," he told himself as he powered up the systems.

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

Date : 18.05.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 5 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Do you think that Rodney would consider swapping teams with me?" Ellie asked of Teyla as she pushed her laptop into her backpack and Teyla pursed her lips as though she was seriously considering the question.

"Ahh…no," came her response a few seconds later and Ellie grumbled unhappily, making Teyla smile.

"You like Major Statham really," she chided but Ellie snorted sarcastically,

"Oh yeah, I love him to bits," and Teyla frowned.

"Well, you'll get a short reprieve this afternoon when you accompany us wont you," she said and Ellie nodded.

"I guess so and I am really looking forward to it. It seems like forever since I went off world with you guys."

Teyla's smile returned and she touched Ellie's arm briefly before heading for the door.

"I will see you at the jumper bay later," she said before she disappeared and Ellie raised a hand before continuing to pack what things she would need for the mission.

She was going along with SGA-1 to predominantly help McKay and she marvelled at how Sheppard saw fit to let his scientist go back to the planets that he wanted to, but how Statham wouldn't let her go back to the ones that she wanted to re-visit.

"He's a jerk, that's why. Evan always listened to me…he valued my opinions…" she mumbled to herself, then stopped as a wave of longing for her husband washed over her and she straightened and gripped the work bench in front of her.

She missed Evan like crazy. She missed talking to him, sharing a private joke and a laugh with him, she missed watching him paint - the concentration on his face when he'd been mixing colours on his pallet had always made her smile…but most of all she missed being in his arms, making love with him, their closeness had meant everything to her and she felt so alone now.

Sighing heavily, she zipped up her backpack and headed off to get her boots and tac vest. She needn't worry about disapproving stares from Major Statham today with regard to her pale yellow sundress as she knew that Sheppard wouldn't mind what she wore.

OOOOO

Statham threw down his pen and picked up his coffee cup before leaning back in his chair. He groaned as he stretched out his stiff muscles.

With his team grounded in Ellie's absence he had decided to catch up on some paperwork.

He raised the cup to his lips and tried to shake off the uneasy feeling in his stomach, the one he'd had since she and Sheppard's team had disappeared through the gate earlier.

He had just put his cup back down on the desk-top when his ear-piece buzzed.

It was Woolsey.

"Major I need you and the rest of your team ready to go off-world and in the gate room immediately," he said and Statham stood and shoved his chair back.

As he headed for the door he said,

"What's going on?"

"SGA-1 are under heavy Wraith attack and they need back up. SGA-3 and 5 will accompany you," Woolsey replied and Statham's mouth tightened, his stomach knotting as he raced to the armoury.

He'd known that something wasn't quite right all afternoon and he made a mental note to never ignore his gut feeling if he ever got the sensation again.

Lt. Franks and Lyssa joined him as he collected a P-90 and once they had theirs and some spare ammo they all ran to the gate room, arriving at the same time as the other two teams.

As Chuck dialled up the gate, Statham tried not to think about what was happening on the other side and he wanted to thump Woolsey when he approached and said,

"You should know that on their last transmission McKay said that Sheppard and Ronon had been wounded."

Lyssa stiffened at the news, her heart filling with even more dread at what they would find once they arrived to help their friends.

Finally the gate whooshed into life and they were given the go ahead to go through.

They raced head first into the chaos that was reigning on the planet and as Statham and the others began to shoot at the Wraith that were currently outnumbering their colleagues, Statham unconsciously began to search out Ellie.

She was a pain in the ass, but she was his pain in the ass and he wanted her safe.

His anxiety grew when he couldn't see any sign of her and he swung around, his eyes scanning the area as his instincts told him to hurry, the deafening sounds of gunfire erupting all around him.

A wraith self-detonated near by him and he grimaced and ran toward an area where the grass was longer. He passed Teyla fighting with a leather coat-clad wraith but she seemed to be holding her own and so he continued on.

Finally he saw a flash of yellow up ahead and his jaw stiffened as he saw Ellie, a wraith towering above her, his hands around her throat.

ooo

Ellie felt like she'd been kicking and fighting forever. Her throat felt raw from screaming so much and she felt exhausted.

Lights began to pop in front of her eyes and she felt her limbs beginning to grow heavy.

Suddenly she dropped to her knees as her attacker released her but she barely registered the wraith's cries as he was riddled with bullets from Statham's P-90.

Ellie fell forward, resting her weight on her hands as she dragged oxygen back into her lungs. She felt dizzy and although she had heard gunfire close by, she couldn't understand why the wraith had let her go.

Just then she was grabbed again and forced back into a kneeling position and, assuming that it was the wraith again she reached up and began to fight, her fists pelting his chest as she cried out wildly.

"Shush, Ellie its me, Frank," Statham said, gripping her chin. He angled her head so that she had to look at his face as he knelt on one knee before her.

"Stop fighting me," he added.

Through the haze of panic his words finally registered and Ellie let her fists uncurl and she flattened her palms against him instead. She stared at him, breathing heavily and Statham cupped her face.

"Come on, we have to move," he said gruffly. "Take a deep breath," he added, his voice sounding oddly gentle compared to the menacing look upon his face.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, his hands moving to her bare arms as he dragged her to her feet and he took in the blood stains on the front of her dress.

"Ellie! Tell me you're alright?" he shouted at her when she didn't reply to him straight away.

The fear in his voice finally brought her to her senses and she nodded,

"I'm okay," she croaked, blinking as he fired off a couple of shots at a passing wraith over her shoulder before turning his attention back to her.

"The blood…?" he said and Ellie looked down at her dress, tears blurring her eyes as she replied,

"John's…"

Statham grimaced.

"Come on, we have to get back toward the gate. Do you have any ammo left?" he said and Ellie shook her head, her eyes straying to the devastation around them.

"Here, take this," he said, shoving his hand-gun into her numb hands.

"Stay close and watch my back," he instructed and Ellie forced herself to concentrate as Statham dragged her along behind him, back toward the fray.

Ellie went onto auto-pilot as they re-entered the fight, helping to reduce the already dwindling number of wraiths as they made their way back to the gate.

When they reached it, Statham shoved Ellie through it and then turned to see if he could assist any one else.

Ronon passed him carrying an unconscious Sheppard and then he heard Teyla yelling for someone to help her as Lyssa was down.

As he raced toward them, Lt. Franks passed him helping a hobbling McKay.

As Statham picked up Lyssa, Teyla followed covering them and he offered up a prayer that Lyssa wasn't too badly hurt and that the others would be alright too.

**OoOoOo**

Much later Statham, Ellie, Teyla, Lt. Franks, SGA-3 and three members of SGA-5 sat listening to Woolsey rant on about how they must find out what had prompted such a frenzied wraith attack and why this one had been so different from the others. By all accounts the creatures had seemed to want to kill in normal battle style as opposed to sucking the life from their enemies and that was not normal.

He then went on to inform the group that Ronon was injured, but was eager to leave the infirmary, McKay had a twisted ankle and that Sheppard was more seriously wounded and had almost lost his life due to the amount of blood he had lost.

Ellie glanced down at her stained dress as Woolsey went on to describe how Dr Keller had needed to give him a transfusion and Statham watched her closely from across the table.

He felt his gut twist at the look of misery upon her face and he wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to know what she was thinking even though he guessed it was something to do with the day Major Lorne had lost his life to the wraith. He felt like he needed to see her smile that 'pretty' smile of hers and he wanted to chase away the dark circles from beneath her eyes, a tell-tale sign that she wasn't sleeping properly.

But then the moment was gone as he heard Lyssa's name and his head snapped back to Woolsey.

"Lyssa has serious injuries to her chest and arms but as you all know, she is a faster healer with that DNA of hers and so Dr Keller is optimistic that the wounds will sort themselves out quickly with her assistance and that Lyssa will make a full recovery, she is stable at the moment."

Ellie heaved a ragged sigh of relief at this news and clasped her hands together in her lap to stop them shaking.

"Unfortunately Lt. Atherton of SGA-5 lost his life today and…" Woolsey's voice faded from Ellie's mind as her eyes turned to the leader of SGA-5.

The man looked ready to murder someone, but behind his anger she could see the devastation and her heart went out to him.

She hadn't really known Lt. Atherton but there was no doubt that he would have had family or a loved one who would now have to mourn his loss besides his team and other colleagues.

She swiped at her eyes as Woolsey's words filtered back through and she heard him saying,

"I want statements from you all and then you should all get checked out in the infirmary…following that you are released from duty for the rest of the day."

The group stayed around the table to write out their statements and it was almost as if they didn't want to be separated.

Finally though, the members of SGA's 3 and 5 left the room followed by Lt. Franks.

Statham hovered, not sure if to wait for Ellie or not, but then Teyla stood and Ellie followed suit and so he instead went around the table and collected everyone's statements, giving the two women enough time to leave together.

Ellie and Teyla went immediately to the infirmary to see their friends.

Ellie hovered by Lyssa's bedside, finding her friend asleep.

'That's good,' she told herself firmly. 'Lyssa heals very quickly if she sleeps more.'

She stood for a few moments more, her eyes glued to Lyssa's face before a nurse approached her and said that Keller wanted to see her now.

After being given the all-clear save for some bruising and scratches, Keller let her go and she headed to her room to shower and change.

She had been assured that should Lyssa awaken or ask for her then she would be notified immediately and this made her feel a little better about leaving her friend in the infirmary.

Unable to stay in her room alone, she decided to head for the mess hall. Not for food as she couldn't have stomached a thing, in fact it was just for the feeling of not being alone.

She stood by the level-changers' doors and when they opened she barely acknowledged Statham who was already inside.

Statham felt his chest tighten at the sight of the bruising that was beginning to appear around Ellie's neck and he cleared his throat gruffly before saying,

"Did you get checked out in the infirmary?"

Ellie nodded. "Did you?" she asked but Statham shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong with me and I didn't want to waste their time, they have enough to deal with."

Ellie nodded again, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.

Statham was never normally wary around women, but he worried his bottom lip for a moment before saying,

"Look, I have some whisky in my room, you look like you could do with a shot…" he trailed off, expecting Ellie to decline and so was shocked when she nodded.

"That sounds good."

They went back to the quarters level and Ellie followed Statham to his door.

Once inside, he poured them both a shot and he handed one to her, noting that she looked like she didn't want to be alone.

Truth be told, neither did he, but he found it highly ironic that two people who couldn't normally stand being in the same room together had now chosen to share a drink together alone and in somewhere as private as his quarters.

After taking a couple of sips, Ellie moved wordlessly to his balcony and stepped out through the already open doors.

The fresh air hit her face and she could smell the salt of the ocean as the breeze whipped her hair back.

Statham followed her but stood in the doorway merely watching her as he took another swallow of his whiskey.

Suddenly Ellie raised a hand to her mouth and tried to stifle the sobs that were building inside of her.

Statham put down his glass and approached her from behind.

He reached around her and took her glass, placing it on the table that was out there.

"Go ahead and let it out Ellie, its okay," he told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and that seemed to be her undoing.

She began to cry in earnest and his own chest heaved as he turned her and pulled her close to him.

The days events had took their toll and as she sobbed he murmured soft comforting words and stroked her back, his fingers eventually finding their way into her long hair.

He tenderly tucked it behind her ears as she pulled back from him slightly and looked up into his eyes. He could see that she was fighting to stop her tears and he offered her a tentative smile.

Ellie's hands clung to his sides and she was afraid to let go. She hated looking and feeling this vulnerable, especially in front of this particular man but she couldn't seem to be able to bring herself to move away from him, she felt too safe in his arms.

"I thought you were dead when I saw you fall to the ground…" Statham said suddenly and Ellie bit her lip.

"I would have thought that…that you would be pleased about that," she hiccupped, trying to make a joke of his statement but she frowned as she saw concern and not amusement in his eyes.

He moved a hand and trailed a finger gently along her jawbone and Ellie could feel the heat that radiated from his taught muscles and his masculine scent filled her nostrils, igniting her senses.

Unconsciously she leant in closer to him, her hands moving up to his chest where her fingers flexed against the material of his T-shirt and she could feel his heartbeat thundering against her palm.

He was so tall and she felt tiny stood against his strong frame, but she wasn't scared, quite the opposite in fact.

The way he was looking at her made her feel like the one who was in charge of their current situation and it was unexpectedly gratifying to see the confident Major Statham looking so unsure of himself.

She watched the emotions warring within his eyes as he searched her face, for what she wasn't quite sure until he said her name that was.

"Ellie…"

And then she knew.

Her eyes dropped to his mouth and although she missed the flare of heat in his, she did not miss the low growl that sounded in the back of his throat just before he lowered his head and brushed her mouth with his.

Ellie knew that she should have been shocked or incensed by what he was doing, but she wasn't.

She moved her hands and clung onto the corded muscles of his arms, her soft breath whispering across his lips and he couldn't resist sweeping his tongue across her mouth before delving deeper to taste her more fully.

Statham willed himself to pull away but instead, one hand snaked into her hair again whilst his other dragged her tightly to him, pressing her curves into the hard planes of his body.

They somehow seemed to fit perfectly together despite their differences in height and he felt her breasts rising and falling against him as he deepened their kiss.

Desire jolted through him and it seemed to wake him up from the stupor that he had fallen into.

He pulled away from Ellie and all but glared at her.

'What the hell are you doing?' he asked himself angrily.

His breathing sounded raspy in the thick silence that now hung between them and his desire to repeat the mistake of another passionate kiss was so overwhelming that he had to abruptly let go of Ellie and turn his back to her.

Ellie stared at his broad back as she took a couple of steps backwards herself, putting a little distance between them.

Her fingertips brushed her mouth, her lips tingling. She felt dazed, but not disgusted as Statham was imagining her to be.

"I'm sorry," she heard him mutter and she shook her head even though he couldn't see her.

"Why?" she asked, her voice sounding stronger than she actually felt.

Statham turned back to face her at her odd question.

'Had she actually wanted his kiss?' he wondered, trying to read the expression on her face but failing. 'Had she wanted it or had the situation she found herself in simply made her call for comfort from whoever was available at the time?'

'It didn't matter,' he told himself. 'He didn't like Ellie and she didn't like him.'

So why were they staring at one another with barely concealed desire in their eyes?

Suddenly they were back in one another's arms, their mouths kissing and nibbling and driving one another to distraction.

They made their way back inside of Statham's quarters, pulling at one another's clothes as they fell onto his bed.

Statham tried to take a deep breath and slow things down, but he felt out of control and he wanted to take Ellie hard and fast and so far she didn't seem to be objecting.

He had never imagined that she could be so sensuous and passionate and so responsive, to him of all people!

He should learn not to judge a book by its cover!

As he covered himself with the protection he always carried, he looked at her, uncertainty still showing in his eyes as he said,

"Ellie…are you certain that this is what you want?"

Ellie reached up and pulled him down on top of her in response to his question and as he buried himself into her welcoming depths, he nuzzled his face into her neck and murmured,

"You feel so good…"

A self-satisfied smile tipped Ellie's mouth just before she moaned loudly and thrust herself against Statham as he began to bring them both to the climax they craved.

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

Date : 25.05.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 6 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Major Statham awoke and instantly sat bolt upright in his bed, the bed sheet falling down to his lap, revealing his naked chest.

He glanced around his room and strained his ears to try and hear any sounds coming from the bathroom.

There was nothing.

Ellie had gone.

With a sigh he fell back against the pillows, one muscular arm going behind his head.

He didn't know what the hell had possessed Ellie and him to make love, but they had and it had been fantastic…or at least he thought so.

It was apparent by the way that Ellie had disappeared from his quarters before he had awoken that she didn't quite feel the same way.

It was a first for him for the woman to have fled the scene before he had had a chance to and he felt a little disturbed by that fact.

"I wasn't that bad…surely," he muttered to himself before throwing back the bed sheet and stomping to the bathroom to take a shower.

Seeing Ellie again later would be interesting.

**OoOoOoOo**

In her own shower, Ellie was letting the water jets wash away her tears.

She didn't exactly regret sleeping with Statham, she had enjoyed the experience for what it was after all, but she felt like she had somehow cheated on Lorne and that was what was upsetting her the most.

Her brain knew that technically she had done nothing wrong, but her mind was running away with her and was telling her something totally different.

That was one of the reasons that she had left Statham asleep in his bed without waking him. She couldn't face the intimacy of waking up with another man just yet…sleeping with him was one thing, waking up with him was something else entirely.

When she finally pulled herself together enough to stop her tears, she got out of the shower, dried herself then once dressed, headed straight to the infirmary to see if there was any news on her best friend.

She found Lyssa to be awake and half-sat, half-lying in her infirmary bed looking agitated.

"Hey," Ellie said, hugging her as gently as she could.

"Hey," Lyssa returned, glad to see a friendly face.

"How are you doing, how are you feeling?", Ellie asked and Lyssa sighed.

"The wounds are healing and I am fine…I guess," she replied and Ellie frowned.

"You guess? Lyss you scared the crap out of me….what's wrong?"

Lyssa sighed again and looked over to where Sheppard was lying asleep in his own bed, various drips and tubes inserted into his arms and Ellie followed her gaze.

Understanding dawned upon her and she touched Lyssa's arm.

"He's going to be okay. He had to have a blood transfusion, but he'll be alright…do you want me to get an update for you on his condition?" she said, but Lyssa shook her head.

"No…no thanks….I just wish I didn't have to watch Lexi fawning all over him every five minutes, its driving me insane," she grumbled and Ellie bit her lip.

She wanted to tell Lyssa about her night with Statham but she didn't feel like the time was right and so she said,

"Does John have any idea at all about how you feel?"

"No! No…and I don't want him too either," Lyssa replied firmly and Ellie frowned again.

She was trying to think about how she could get the pair closer when Statham strode into the infirmary and her heart all but stopped beating as their eyes clashed.

As he came to stand by Ellie's side she dragged her eyes away and focused on Lyssa, who was seemingly oblivious to the sudden tension as she looked up at her C/O.

"Hi Frank," she greeted him and Statham looked at her, suddenly remembering that it had been her that he had come to see.

The sight of Ellie in the infirmary had scrambled his brain…a feeling he wasn't sure he liked.

"Lyssa…how are you feeling? You seriously scared the shit out of me yesterday and now you look great," he said, winking at her and Lyssa laughed easily, used to his flirtatious ways.

Ellie was not and she folded her arms as Statham and Lyssa continued to flirt.

"I'm fine thank you and you don't look too bad yourself," Lyssa said and Statham chuckled.

"All the better for seeing you," he said and Ellie cleared her throat.

"If you'll both excuse me, I'm going to go see John," she said, not waiting for a reply before she turned and high-tailed it across to Sheppard's bed.

Lyssa's smile faded as she watched her friends retreating back and it was Statham's turn to clear his throat.

"Is she okay?" he asked and Lyssa looked back at him.

"Um…yeah…why?" she replied and Statham shrugged, unsure as to whether Ellie would have confided in Lyssa yet about their night together.

"Just wondered," he said and Lyssa smiled.

"And there was me thinking you didn't care about female feelings."

"I don't," Statham replied stiffly, not liking the implication that he did and Lyssa laughed.

"Isn't it about time that you and Ellie kissed and made up?" she joked and Statham cleared his throat again.

"I should go…I was in the middle of a pile of paperwork yesterday and I should get on with it. Glad you're doing well Lyssa," he said, leaving her bedside before she had a chance to say anything further.

Frowning she watched him go, then watched with further amazement as Ellie left a still sleeping Sheppard's beside to come back to hers.

"Okay, what's going on?" Lyssa asked and Ellie looked away guiltily.

"With what?" she asked innocently, smoothing a crease on Lyssa's bed sheet and Lyssa tried folding her arms before realising that the action was too painful and she winced and put them back by her sides before replying,

"With you and Frank."

Ellie briefly considered lying, but then realised that there was no point. Lyssa knew her just as well as she knew Lyssa…they were like psychics when it came to one another.

"I…we…last night…" she trailed off, still not certain that she wanted to tell anyone what she and Statham had done the evening before.

"You weren't arguing again where you?" Lyssa said, sighing and Ellie bit her lip and raked a hand through her hair.

"No…we…we…" Ellie struggled again before tears blurred her vision and she blurted,

"We slept together…I cheated on Evan and I feel horrible."

For a moment Lyssa just stared at her friend, her brain trying to comprehend how two people who apparently couldn't stand one another, had ended up sleeping together.

"Okay…firstly and most importantly, you 'did not' cheat on Evan, he would want you to be happy and secondly, I need you to tell me when you started to like Frank enough to sleep with him!"

Ellie swiped at her eyes and sniffed loudly.

"That's just it, I don't like him," she replied and Lyssa frowned.

"You…don't?"

"No…I cant stand him…and he cant stand me!" Ellie said and Lyssa scratched her head.

"I'm somewhat confused," she said and Ellie managed a small false smile.

"Me too."

"Are you alright?" Lyssa asked, taking in how utterly miserable Ellie actually looked.

"I kind of feel bad for enjoying last night…" Ellie said and Lyssa's eyes widened.

"You enjoyed it?" she asked and Ellie blushed.

"Yes…but don't you dare tell Frank that I did," she warned and Lyssa chuckled and shook her head.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said.

She was glad that Ellie wasn't entirely regretting what she and Statham had done, but she was secretly concerned about what would happen if her friend actually began to care for their C/O.

Statham's reputation with women went before him and Lyssa didn't want Ellie to get hurt.

She decided to speak to him at the earliest opportunity.

"So was it just a one off or what?" she asked and Ellie nodded her head vigorously.

"Oh yes, definitely a one off…I just need to put it down to the fact that I didn't want to be alone last night. What happened off world, to you, to John, it shook me up, brought back painful memories of something that I am only just coming to terms with and Frank, well, he was there at the right time."

"And how does Frank feel about it?" Lyssa asked and Ellie cleared her throat.

"I don't know…we didn't exactly talk this morning…I ran away before he even woke up!"

Lyssa laughed and then winced as pain radiated around her middle.

She could almost see Frank's face when he had awoken earlier and found himself alone.

"So when he was in here just, that's the first time you've seen one another since you fled?" she asked and Ellie nodded.

"Now I get why he seemed so uncomfortable," Lyssa said and Ellie's eyes narrowed.

"He seemed uncomfortable?" she asked and Lyssa nodded.

"Yeah, unusually so…"

Ellie was about to reply when her ear-piece buzzed.

It was Chuck.

"Dr Lorne, please report to Mr Woolsey's office a.s.a.p. please."

Ellie pressed her ear-piece to reply.

"On my way."

She then said to Lyssa,

"I have to go…Woolsey wants me. I'll stop by later and we'll brainstorm over how to get you and John a little closer."

"We will?" Lyssa said, wondering why Ellie had suddenly decided to end their discussion about her and Statham.

"Uh-huh, its about time that you got what you wanted," Ellie replied, squeezing Lyssa's arm before she headed toward the exit.

Lyssa sighed and glanced over at Sheppard who was still sleeping soundly, probably due to the drugs that Keller had given him.

'Maybe Ellie is right,' she thought, watching as Lexi checked his vitals for the umpteenth time that morning.

One thing that she was certain about though was that she was not one for breaking people up and if Sheppard was interested at all in starting a relationship with her, then he would have to break up with Lexi first.

What Lyssa didn't know though was that Sheppard was much closer to that step than she could have ever imagined and but for him getting hurt yesterday, today he and Lexi would have been no more.

Fate was cruel.

**End of Chapter 6**


	7. Chapter 7

**Date : 06.06.2009**

**Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate**

**Author : ElaineDex**

**Chapter : 7 of ?**

**Rating : M**

**Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC**

**Major Evan Lorne/OC**

**Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language. **

**Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.**

**Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.**

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Major Lorne struggled to control the jumper as it jerked this way and that on its journey through the wormhole he was travelling through.

He had initially travelled to the closest planet from the destroyed Atlantis and rested there for a few days, taking stock of his situation and sorting through the supplies he had loaded into the back of his jumper. He had then decided to use the gate on the planet to go to the only friendly address he could remember, P32-141.

The villagers there were good people and they would let him stay with them whilst he decided on his next course of action.

Something was wrong though.

Gate travel was always a rough ride…but not this rough and Lorne acknowledged that he could be in trouble.

His mind wandered to the prospect of dying and he found himself welcoming the idea.

'What do I have to live for now anyway?' he asked himself, as he lifted his hands from the jumpers' console, considering letting fate take control of his life from here on in.

The jumper lurched dangerously to one side and Lorne immediately placed his hands back onto the controls.

'What was wrong with him?' he wondered, feeling ashamed.

He was no coward and if fighting to the end was what he had to do then he would do it. He wouldn't go out that easily, that wasn't the way he worked.

And so, with that in mind, he struggled on with trying to keep the jumper under his control until what appeared to be a bolt of lightening struck it and he blacked out from the force of the blow.

Now fate really was in control of his destiny.

**OoOoOoOo**

Ellie had finished up her brief meeting with Woolsey and had then headed to her lab. She and Rodney were working on another crystal, one that could possibly enable the jumpers to travel more quickly just like the Daedalus now could.

She popped back to the infirmary at lunchtime only to discover that Lyssa was having her almost healed injuries assessed by Dr Keller and so she left a message with one of the nurses to say that she would come back later.

All afternoon, whilst trying to block out Rodney's incessant moaning, she tried to think of a plan to get her best friend closer to Sheppard, but inevitably came up with nothing and so was almost glad when she returned to the infirmary at dinner time and found Lyssa asleep.

Sighing, she scribbled a note saying that she was sorry to have missed her friend and that if she needed anything she was to have someone radio her whatever time it was.

Tucking the note into the book that her friend was in the middle of reading, she left the infirmary and headed for her quarters.

All day she had managed to avoid Major Statham and keep him at the back of her mind, but now, with nothing else pressing on the forefront of her thoughts, he popped right in there and she gasped at the force of the feeling of desire she suddenly felt.

She blushed and walked a little faster toward the level changer, her heart pounding as the doors opened and there stood the man himself.

He was wearing a black training vest that moulded itself the contours of his chest and black combats and Ellie swallowed hard at the sight of him.

Statham watched as Ellie's eyes raked up and down his body and his mouth went dry at the look of raw desire he saw there.

Wordlessly he reached out and wrapped a strong arm around her waist and dragged her inside of the level changer, the doors instantly closing, giving them privacy as his mouth took hers.

When he finally broke their kiss, it was only to move his mouth to her ear and then down along the soft curve of her neck and Ellie moaned and let her fingers trail up and down his muscular arms.

"Where have you been all day?" he muttered, his voice husky and Ellie couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips as his hands caressed her bottom and then gave it a small squeeze.

"Around," she managed and Statham made a small sound of dissatisfaction at her response before his mouth took hers once again.

When the level changer opened on their quarters' floor, they stumbled out, still clinging to one another and headed once more for Statham's room.

Once inside they tugged at one another's clothing and then Ellie pushed Statham onto his back.

As she straddled him she blocked out the voice in her head that was asking her why she was falling into bed with this man again and what it was that drew her to him despite her protestations that she didn't even like him.

Statham was also wondering what the hell they were doing again.

Last night he could understand, the danger and trauma of the day getting to the pair of them, but they both still couldn't be in shock, surely.

He gritted his teeth to stop himself from moaning out loud as Ellie covered him with the condom that she had taken from the top of his bedside cabinet as they'd been undressing one another and just as she raised herself over him, he sat up, one arm going around her waist, the other cupping her cheek.

She paused, hovering over the tip of him and looked down into his eyes as he said,

"Are you sure…I mean…you and I…." he trailed off as she rested a hand on his cheek for a moment, studying his face before trailing a finger along his strong jaw.

"Being here with you makes me forget everything else," she said as though it explained everything and then she bent and covered his mouth with hers.

Statham realised that that was all the conversation that he was going to get out of her and as he felt her warmth envelope his hardness, he closed his eyes and let himself accept the fact that for some reason he was quite content to make love to Ellie as many times as she wanted.

He blocked out the fact that normally he wouldn't allow any woman into his bed more than once…right now that wasn't important.

The next morning though, when he awoke alone once more and muttered, "Damn it Ellie…" he came to the conclusion that he needed to take control of their situation.

He should be calling the shots, not the brunette bombshell that he couldn't get off of his mind!

**OoOoOoO**

"Is it any good?" Sheppard asked and Lyssa glanced up from the book she was reading and tried to hold in the blush that she felt creeping into her cheeks.

She wasn't the kind of woman that blushed, or at least she hadn't considered herself to be until John Sheppard had started talking to her earlier that morning.

First he had asked her how long he'd been out, then he'd told her that he was hungry and she had gladly called over a nurse, thankfully not Lexi and organised some food for him.

Once his food had arrived, he had shooed the nurse who had brought it away and had called Lyssa over and then asked her to help him and she had taken great delight in being the one to feed him his scrambled eggs.

They had of course passed the time of day in the past, but she had never been 'this close' to the object of her affection before and he was creating havoc with her insides.

Insides that were almost fully healed now, much to Lyssa's disappointment.

Sometimes, healing more quickly than anyone she knew 'was not' a distinct advantage, as soon she would be discharged from the infirmary with a clean bill of health.

Finally answering Sheppard's question, she replied,

"It's quite interesting, yeah…"

"I wouldn't have had you down as the romantic kind though," Sheppard said and Lyssa turned the book in her hand so that she could glance at the front cover of the fluffy romance story that she was reading.

"It's one Ellie borrowed me…I didn't think I would like it either, but its kept me intrigued up to now," she explained and Sheppard nodded.

"Is there lots of sex in it?" he asked, sounding quite innocent despite the fully loaded question and Lyssa couldn't hold back the blush any longer and her skin flushed embarrassingly.

"Not yet," she managed, wondering why men always asked that about any book they came across a woman reading and Sheppard smiled, wondering how he had missed this 'girly' side of Lyssa Hunter before.

He had of course spoken to her in the past, though it had mainly been when his team and SGA-2 had been off world together and she had been working in conjunction with Ronon to track their way through a difficult location and she had been advising him of the best route to take.

He stared at her for a moment, really taking in her appearance. She was fair skinned and slim, her breasts were high and pert against the white vest top she wore with her pyjama bottoms and her blonde hair fell in messy waves to just above her shoulders and although he had said that he hadn't seen her as the romantic kind, he hadn't meant that she wasn't attractive or womanly.

In fact he was finding that she was extremely attractive and womanly and he wouldn't mind getting to know her a little better…or rather a whole lot better!

If only he could end things with Lexi.

He would have ended things weeks ago with the kind hearted nurse, but she was having problems with her family back on earth and he wasn't the kind of man to dump someone when they were down.

Not only that but this recent incident off world had also delayed any plans he had had for ending their relationship.

Fate had great timing.

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8

**Date : 17.06.2009**

**Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate**

**Author : ElaineDex**

**Chapter : 8 of ?**

**Rating : M**

**Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC**

**Major Evan Lorne/OC**

**Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language. **

**Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.**

**Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.**

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU ****J**

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I bet you're glad to be out of there aren't you?" Statham said to Lyssa as he escorted her from the infirmary and she nodded, smiling falsely.

Truth be told, she wasn't ready to leave the infirmary just yet, but not because she hadn't healed thoroughly. No, there was another reason, one Lt. Col. John Sheppard.

They had talked through most of last night, much to the annoyance of Lexi who, once she had appeared for duty, had to keep disappearing to do her rounds.

Lyssa now felt that she knew a little more about the broodingly good-looking Sheppard, but unfortunately for her, that meant that she had fallen for him just a little bit more.

Just then, Ellie ran up to them.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Rodney wouldn't let me go," she said in a rush, her eyes carefully avoiding Statham's, a fact that didn't go un-noticed by Lyssa and she looked from one to the other as Statham said,

"Ellie I need to see you in my office just as soon as you're done with settling Lyssa back into her quarters, okay?"

"Sure…" Ellie replied, still not meeting his gaze and as he nodded once at Lyssa and left them to it, Lyssa said,

"Okay…you two did it again didn't you."

Ellie nodded and linked arms with her friend as they began to walk.

"I don't know why it happened," she said miserably and Lyssa sighed.

"You must find him attractive to some degree."

"I do…I just don't like him," Ellie replied and Lyssa raised an eyebrow at her.

"I cant explain it," Ellie said, shrugging and Lyssa frowned.

"So what are you going to do, just run with things and see how they turn out?" she asked and Ellie bit her lip.

"I guess…" she replied.

"Look, Ellie…whilst you were away, Frank and I became quite good friends and I learnt that he isn't the relationship type…" Lyssa stopped as Ellie interrupted her, her tone sharp.

"I don't want a relationship with him."

Lyssa regarded Ellie for a moment before continuing,

"All I'm saying is just be careful…I don't want to see you hurt again so soon after Evan and if you start to care about Frank, I'm not sure what he'd do."

"I don't care about Frank…I just…well, whenever I'm with him, I forget everything else and it helps," Ellie explained as best she could and Lyssa gave her friends' arm a squeeze.

"Just be careful okay?" she said and Ellie nodded.

Lyssa smiled then said,

"Okay, so I have news on John…" and with that Frank Statham was put to one side…for now.

oooo

Much later, Lyssa said,

"Hey, weren't you supposed to go see Frank?"

"Yes, but I have no intention of doing so…" Ellie replied from her position on the floor at the foot of Lyssa's bed, the beer bottle she held wavering precariously.

"He'll be mad," Lyssa said, feeling a little light-headed herself from just one beer as she wasn't a drinker.

"What's the worst he can do? Take me to bed and have fantastic sex with me? Yeah, real punishment," Ellie replied laughing as Lyssa broke out in an un-characteristic giggling fit which was extremely infectious.

Later, with her head spinning, Ellie wisely decided that she had better head to bed and after bidding an already half asleep Lyssa goodnight, she staggered down the hallway, in totally the wrong direction to her own quarters.

oooo

Statham turned onto his quarters' hallway, just in time to see Ellie right at the other end, lurching dangerously to one side, her hands having to steady herself against the wall and he broke out into a run, thinking that there was something wrong with her.

There was…she was steaming drunk!

"What the hell…?" he queried, putting an arm around her waist and Ellie hooked one of hers around his neck.

"Major! How's it going?" she slurred over-brightly and Statham frowned at her.

"It's going better than things are with you…obviously," he said, cursing as she lost her footing and almost dragged him down with her.

He lifted her into his arms and she giggled.

"Frank, you're soooo strong," she teased, nibbling his jaw and Statham gritted his teeth and ignored her as he said,

"I wondered why you didn't come to see me as requested earlier…now I know. I should report you for failing to follow orders from your C/O."

"I'm shivilian…" she slurred drunkenly, then informed him matter-of-factly, "I don't HAVE to lishen to you."

"Yes you do…if you want to remain on MY team that is," Statham tried to tell her, but he could tell that she was no longer listening to him, she was too busy nibbling on his neck and he growled in the back of his throat and quickened his pace.

He knew that he should take her to her own quarters, but he wanted to keep an eye on her and so he headed to his own, dumping her down on his doorstep as he swiped his hand over the access panel.

The doors swished open and he manoeuvred her inside.

Ellie immediately headed for his bathroom, then re-emerged a little later to find Statham sat on his bed, his elbows resting on his knees as he regarded her.

She smiled lopsidedly at him and headed for his bed, throwing herself down on top of it.

As Statham twisted to look at her she asked, "Are you going to make love to me?"

"No…not in that state," he replied, then watched in amazement as she nodded, then turned her back to him and promptly fell asleep!

"Unbelievable," he muttered, but then a plan began to form in his mind and he grinned as he pulled the bedclothes up and over a still fully clothed Ellie.

**OoOoOoO**

Lorne's body jolted back into consciousness and he raised his head warily from the console of his jumper and glanced to his right.

He could see nothing but trees.

He groaned and attempted to straighten up, but a searing pain shot through his temple and as a wave of nausea washed over him, he lay his head back onto the cool surface and drifted back into oblivion.

Several hours later, he re-awoke and this time was able to sit up.

He groaned as the stiff muscles in his back protested against the action. Once upright, he twisted in his seat, noting that the light was fading now and he looked toward the back of the jumper and shook his head in despair.

"That was some crash landing Ev," he told himself as he took in the devastation around him.

The supplies he had neatly arranged and stored away were all over the place and wires hung down from the panels in the roof.

"Great," he muttered, forcing himself to stand, but the action sent another rush of pain to his head and he clutched his forehead with one hand and the back of his seat with the other until the feeling passed.

When he felt okay to move again, he clambered over the mess in the back and pressed the door release, offering up a silent thanks to anyone who was listening, for the fact that the door didn't jam and he was able to stumble outside and get some fresh air.

He rested for a moment or two against a tree, his eyes trying to assess the exterior damage to the jumper.

When he felt a little less light-headed, he made his way back inside and tried to fire the jumper up, but there was no response.

"Now what?" he asked himself, thinking that usually this would be the point where he would turn to Ellie, or McKay, depending on who was with him at the time and say, 'Okay…fix it.'

But today there would be no Ellie or McKay to save the day…there never would be again.

Steeling himself against the feelings of loss that threatened to envelope him again, he pushed away from the console and headed toward the rear door again, digging out a P-90 as he went.

'I should head for the village,' he thought, 'Surely they will have someone who can at least take a look at the jumper and it will be good to see some friendly faces again.'

He had travelled a short way through the forest that he had crashed into when he began to realise that something wasn't quite right. Something that he couldn't put his finger on.

Frowning he headed for the closest clearing and then stopped, a mixture of amazement, anger and intense disappointment crossing his handsome face as he took in the view before him.

Miles and miles of sand stretched out until it blended with the horizon and the setting sun.

"What the…?" he began as he dropped to his knees, an unexpected weariness gripping him as the realisation that this was not the correct planet, dawned upon him.

He was lost, he had no one to turn to except himself and his jumper was screwed…

**OoOoOoO**

Ellie sat up with a gasp and looked around her, groaning as pain radiated around her skull and it took her a moment to realise that she was in Statham's bed, despite the fact that it was clearly morning and she was fully clothed.

She went to throw back the covers, but emitted a squeak of surprise as Statham suddenly rolled over and pinned her back to the mattress.

"Good morning," he said and she blinked at him.

"Uh…" was all she could manage and he smiled at her, but the warmth didn't reach his eyes.

"What's wrong Ellie? Are you shocked that you're still in my bed and I'm still in my bed and we're _awake and together_?" he asked, his tone a little sarcastic and she closed her eyes, trying to think what he was going on about through her fast growing headache.

"Um…" she said and Statham grumbled in frustration and sat up.

He headed to the bathroom wearing only his boxers and Ellie forced herself to sit up again, just as he re-appeared carrying a glass of water and some painkillers.

"Take these," he instructed and Ellie took the pills and the water from him and swallowed them gratefully.

When she was done, Statham sat back on the bed and regarded her.

"So what's going on Ellie?" he asked and she avoided his gaze and looked down at her crumpled dress.

"I don't know what you mean," she offered and Statham shook his head.

"We've slept together twice now and both times you've taken off the next morning before I've even woken up and then you refuse to even look at me when we run into each other in the hallways," he said and Ellie swallowed and finally looked back up at him.

"I'm sorry…" she began, but he shook his head again.

"I don't want you to be sorry…" he said, his frustration almost getting the better of him.

How could he tell her that it was usually him that did the exact same thing to the women he slept with, but that he normally never spent more than one night with any one woman?

She had been an exception to his rules.

He couldn't explain any of it to her because he didn't understand it himself.

So, instead he heard himself saying,

"I just want some ground rules…"

"Ground rules?" Ellie repeated and he nodded.

"If we're going to do this 'just having sex thing', then we need to have a plan of action."

"Right," Ellie replied.

She supposed that she should have been shocked or upset or something of a similar nature, but at the moment, what Statham was offering her suited her and she didn't want anything further from him.

"So…ground rules," he said and she nodded.

"Number one, if we sleep together then I don't want you hightailing it away before I wake up…okay?"

Ellie bit her lip and looked at him. She'd had her reasons for not wanting to wake up in any other man's arms but Lorne's, but would it really be so bad?

"Okay…" she said eventually and Statham grinned at her.

"Number two, seeing as I'm your C/O, you really do need to speak to me the day afterwards too."

"I guess," Ellie said and Statham's grin turned into a smile.

"Number three…" he began, but Ellie cut him off.

"Number three, whilst we're 'just having sex', you're not to 'just have sex' with anyone else," she stated and Statham folded his arms.

"Well then neither are you," he said indignantly and Ellie's face flamed.

"I wouldn't!" she exclaimed and Statham held up his hands.

"Alright, I'm just saying that fair's fair, that's all."

Ellie fidgeted with a crease in her dress as she said,

"So we're exclusively 'just having sex' then?" and Statham nodded slowly, wondering what the hell he was doing as he replied,

"Yeah, it looks like we are…"

Fate had an odd way of changing ones' lifestyle.

End of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9

Date : 10.07.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 9 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU **

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Weeks had passed since Ellie and Statham's 'just having sex' pact had been made and their relationship seemed to be going from strength to strength, the pair even having the audacity to have lunch and dinner together from time to time, raising the odd eyebrow around the base when they left the mess hall hand in hand.

Lyssa on the other hand, was not having as much luck with Sheppard as he was still with Lexi, despite having all but admitted to Ellie that he liked Lyssa…a lot.

**OoOoOoO**

One morning, Ellie and Lyssa were in Lyssa's quarters getting ready for an off world mission.

"I heard that Lexi might have to go back to earth at the end of the week…those family troubles of hers are coming to a head apparently," Ellie said, as she tied the laces on her boots.

She straightened and Lyssa looked at her.

Lyssa resisted the urge to smile at Ellie's appearance. Her friend really didn't care that her signature sundresses did not go with the standard issue tac vests and boots, but what the real surprise was, was how she had the ability to make everyone else not care either.

Even Statham now didn't seem to mind what she wore off-world, but, she surmised that that was probably down to the shift in her two friends' relationship.

"I think I should just give up on John for the time being," she said eventually, "He needs to sort out his feelings for Lexi."

"I heard he's going to end things with her before she leaves, you know, like a clean break," Ellie said and Lyssa folded her arms and looked sceptically at her.

"You hear a lot," she said and Ellie laughed.

"Pillow talk can be good sometimes," she said and Lyssa shook her head.

"I swear that men are the worst gossips," she said as they began to gather their backpacks. They had already collected their side arms from the armoury earlier and though, technically, they weren't supposed to have weapons in their quarters, the girls had been slightly too early to go to the gate room and so had stopped back off at Lyssa's room.

"I think John just wants you to know that he'll soon be available," Ellie said and Lyssa made a snorting noise.

"What so he's telling Frank stuff, knowing that he'll tell you and you'll then pass it on to me?" she said, her tone disbelieving.

Ellie shrugged.

"Why not? It's what we'd do."

Lyssa waved her hand over the access panel and sighed as she shoved Ellie through the doorway.

"I guess time will tell…but for now, John Sheppard is off limits okay?" she said and Ellie grinned.

"For now…"

Lyssa groaned and stalked off down the hallway, leaving Ellie to jog after her to catch her up.

They took the level changer to the gate room and found that Statham and Lt. Franks were already there.

"Ladies," Statham said in greeting and whereas Ellie offered him her 'pretty' smile, Lyssa's smile could have frozen him to the spot and he frowned at her questioningly, but she looked away.

"You and your team ready to go now Major?" Woolsey asked from Chuck's side and Statham looked up and raised a hand.

"Dial her up," he called out.

Whilst they waited, Ellie and Lt. Franks struck up a conversation and Statham took the opportunity to step closer to Lyssa.

"What was the 'look' for?" he asked quietly and Lyssa regarded him out of the corner of her eye.

"You know," she replied simply and Statham cleared his throat.

"Sheppard," he hazarded a guess.

"Uh-huh…just do me a favour and stop talking to him about me, okay?" Lyssa said and he nodded.

"No problem."

Lyssa sucked in a breath as the gate burst into life and she finally looked at him.

"Okay…lets go see what this new address has to offer," she said, referring to the new planet that had popped up on Zelenka's routine scans and Statham grinned at her.

"After you," he said, holding his arm out to indicate Lyssa go first.

Her friendship was important to him and he didn't want to be in her bad books, nor Ellie's and he didn't miss the pout that his 'just having sex' partner threw his way and he sent her a wink and indicated that she go through the gate next.

"Women," he said to Lt. Franks who nodded in understanding.

oooooo

On the other side of the gate they stepped into what appeared to be the clearing in a forest and Ellie smiled,

"Doesn't look so bad," she said.

"Feels a bit warm though don't you think?" Statham replied, feeling the heat around them already.

"It does a little," Lyssa agreed as they began to walk further on.

"We'll stay together for now alright, just until we get the lay of the land," Statham said and the others nodded in agreement.

oooooo

Lorne had been walking back through the forest toward his jumper when he had heard the gate activate.

He was instantly on alert having seen no signs of life here since he had crash landed.

Over the last few weeks he had camouflaged the jumper as best as he could, leaving just enough room for himself to get in and out of the rear without disturbing the foliage around it and so he was fairly confident that to an untrained eye, it would not be seen.

Whether it and he were discovered now though remained down to whoever was coming through the gate.

He headed to one of the closest look out points that he had set up and got ready to observe the newcomers.

He checked the ammo in the P-90 he carried, glad that he had taken the precaution of hiding the other armoury equipment that he had salvaged from Atlantis in another part of the forest.

And so, he waited…

ooooo

Ellie glanced around the clearing as they walked. It was so peaceful and Statham was right, it was unusually warm for the type of environment that they were in.

"I should take a soil sample," she said and smiled as she heard Statham groan out loud.

"Must you?" he asked, stopping and turning to face her.

"You know it," she replied, pointing to a nearby tree.

"I'll just head over by that one okay?"

Statham pulled a face at her, but nodded.

"Make sure you can see us at all times though Elle, understand?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded, grinning up at him.

He touched a finger to her chin before shaking his head and turning back to catch up with Lyssa and Lt. Franks who had wondered a little further ahead.

'She drives me crazy, but definitely in a good way these days,' he thought and marvelled at the fact that it no longer scared the crap out of him that she did.

Ellie watched Statham go for a moment, her eyes fixed on his taut ass which she had to concede, looked very nice in his combats!

Sighing, she headed toward the tree.

As she collected a soil sample and put some other tufts of foliage into a separate jar for good measure, she glanced around and looked further into the trees.

Forests had always fascinated her, the trees, the different plant life, the animals, the silence…

'It looks so peaceful in there,' she thought as she put the jars back into her sample kit and snapped the lid closed.

She glanced back to where Lyssa, Statham and Lt. Franks had walked some way ahead and decided she could cut them off if she walked just inside the edge of the tree line and that way she could get a good look at the flowers on the forest edge as she walked too _and_ she'd still be able to see the rest of the team…just about, so she wasn't disobeying Statham totally.

Standing she stepped around the back of the tree closest to her and began to walk.

When she'd covered quite a bit of distance and realised that she wasn't going to catch up with the team fast enough to cut them off, she decided that she would just head back out and radio for them to wait for her.

She was just about to do just that when she spotted what appeared to be Bluebells and she paused mid-step as they were a little deeper inside and she bit her lip.

She loved Bluebells.

She glanced around. The forest seemed peaceful enough and she hadn't heard any untoward noises.

She couldn't check her life sign detector as Lyssa had it, but she was pretty certain that she was safe otherwise Statham would have raised the alarm by now surely.

With a decisive nod of her head she headed for the Bluebells.

ooooo

Lorne was beginning to get frustrated.

He could hear voices in the distance, but he still couldn't quite see who it was who was coming his way.

He needed to move from his current position, but he didn't want to risk being detected.

Suddenly a twig snapped somewhere behind him and he immediately turned around and crouched, his movements silent.

Through the foliage that separated them, he could see a woman bending down, her back to him as she examined something on the forest floor.

His eyes glanced over the equipment case that was set down next to her on the ground and he realised that there was something familiar about it, about her.

'It cant be," he thought, rising from his crouched position, his head now appearing over the top of the foliage.

"Ellie…?" he said her name without realising that he had spoken it out loud.

oo

Ellie heard the achingly familiar voice say her name and her fingers stilled on the head of the Bluebell she was examining.

'Surely she was imagining it?' she thought and so she refused to turn around, despite all her senses telling her that there was someone behind her.

oo

Lorne moved forward, the foliage rustling as he did so and at the sound of that, Ellie stood and turned, her blue eyes widening as they drank in the sight of him.

They stared at one another for the longest moment before Ellie's eyes rolled backwards and she passed out.

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10

**Date : 21.09.2009**

**Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate**

**Author : ElaineDex**

**Chapter : 10 of ?**

**Rating : M**

**Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC**

**Major Evan Lorne/OC**

**Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language. **

**Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.**

**Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.**

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU **

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Lorne moved forward, the foliage rustling as he did so and at the sound of that, Ellie stood and turned, her blue eyes widening as they drank in the sight of him._

_They stared at one another for the longest moment before Ellie's eyes rolled backwards and she passed out._

_OoOoOoOoO_

"Crap," Lorne muttered as the woman who looked like Ellie passed out before him.

He glanced around the forest before moving to her side and checking her pulse. He was relieved to feel that it was still strong so she had obviously just fainted.

He put his P-90 on the ground at his side as he observed her.

'But why had she fainted?' he asked himself, 'and who the hell was she and why did she look so much like his ex wife… his dead ex wife?' he hastened to remind himself.

He looked at the silver case she had with her and clicked it open. It and the contents were all SGA standard equipment and his frown deepened.

He shook his head as he considered parallel universes. His luck could not be that bad surely.

**OoOoOoOo**

Major Statham glanced at his watch and then over his shoulder, frowning when he saw no sign of Ellie back in the distance where he, Lyssa and Lt. Franks had left her collecting soil samples.

He pressed his ear piece, causing Lyssa and Franks to look at him as he said,

"Ellie, how's it going? You ready to catch us up yet?"

When there was no response he felt his heart thump a little harder in his chest and he exchanged a glance with Lyssa as she began to pull the life sign detector out of her tac vest pocket.

"Ellie respond please," he tried again.

Still nothing.

"I got two life signs back that way, a little into the trees from the looks of things," Lyssa told him, cursing lightly and he nodded stiffly and readied his P-90 as they began to jog back toward the area they had last seen Ellie.

ooooooo

Lorne removed Ellie's ear piece when he heard it buzz and he listened to the man's voice at the other end with interest. It was definitely not his voice and it didn't sound like Sheppard or Ronon…in fact it didn't sound like anyone he recognised.

'So maybe you're not on a parallel world after all,' he reasoned. 'So how do you explain her?' he asked himself, glancing down at 'Ellie' again.

He couldn't. She was the spit of his ex wife, even down to what she carried in her samples case, but he knew it wasn't 'his' Ellie, she would never wear a dress like this one was for going off world and besides, she had died on his Atlantis, with Lyssa…

A wave of pain washed over him just as Ellie began to stir.

He watched as she put a hand to her forehead and moaned softly.

"Hey, you alright? You passed out…" he said, dropping onto one knee as her eyes flew open and she stared at him.

She sat up slowly, her face going paler than before if that was at all possible.

"Evan…?" she whispered, then glanced around. "Am I dead? Did the wraith get me?" she asked and Lorne regarded her curiously.

He shook his head. "There are no wraith here…" he began, but trailed off as he saw remembrance register on her face and the wealth of emotions that crossed her features before her eyes met his again had him wondering what the hell had gone on in her life.

Before he could ask though, she moved onto her knees and threw her arms around his neck.

"If I'm dreaming then I don't want this to end," she murmured against his ear and Lorne's brow creased as he tried to turn his head to look at her, but he couldn't because she held him so tightly.

"You feel so good and I missed you so much…"

Lorne was confused.

He let her continue to strangle him for a moment or so longer before gently patting her back and then, grasping her arms, he removed them from around his neck.

"Um…ma'am…I'm sorry, but…" he was cut off as Statham said,

"Don't move!" and both Lorne and Ellie looked around to see the Major, Lyssa and Franks all stood with their P-90's pointed at them…well, at Lorne at least.

Ellie stood, her legs feeling shaky and Lorne also stood, his eyes assessing first the two soldiers who were wearing SGA uniforms and then Lyssa.

"Lyssa," he said her name in a similar tone to how Ellie had whispered his, but that thought didn't register with him as she frowned at him.

"Who are you?" Statham asked.

His heart had almost stopped beating in his chest as he and the others had broken through the trees to find Ellie in this stranger's arms.

Lorne's eyes met Statham's as he heard Lyssa say,

"It's Lorne…"

Ellie wanted to speak but found she couldn't. Her brain suddenly lost the fog that had descended upon it and she looked at Statham, her heart doing a funny kind of dance as she realised that if he were there, then the man behind her could not possibly be 'her' Evan.

She looked back at him, confusion crossing her pretty face.

It was then that her eyes rolled back in her head again and she fainted right out again.

Lorne managed to catch her before she hit the forest floor, Statham reaching their sides a couple of seconds later.

Lorne laid her onto the ground and moved back as Statham felt for her pulse.

"She did that earlier too…when I first saw her. Is she alright…does she have some kind of problem?" he asked, knowing that his Ellie had had a mild heart condition. He went to reach for his own gun that was on the floor nearby, but Lyssa stopped him.

"That's fine where it is…for now," she told him and he looked up at her, the look in his blue eyes making her frown again before she replied,

"Ellie passed out because she saw you…you're her 'problem'. Where have you come from?"

Lorne regarded her for a moment, wondering what she meant and also noting that she didn't look overly pleased to see him.

Statham turned away from Ellie and said,

"We're waiting…"

Anger flashed through Lorne as he looked back at Statham.

"How about you guys tell me who the hell you are huh? You are just as…alarming shall we say, to me as I obviously am to you."

"We asked first," Statham pointed out and Lorne sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"Okay," he began, "well, I'm from Atlantis…obviously," he said, holding his arms out and indicating to his now worse for wear uniform.

When Statham, Lyssa and Franks merely continued to look at him he continued,

"A few weeks ago, our allies the Genii, launched a surprise attack, destroying the city completely..." he took a deep, steadying breath, trying to get the bitterness out of his tone before finishing, "everyone was killed aside from me....somehow. I searched the wreckage that was Atlantis for days trying to find survivors but to no avail. Eventually I took the only working Jumper I could find, along with as much ammo and food as I could lay my hands on and was gating to a planet where we had friends...other allies...but something went wrong and I landed here."

"What do you mean 'something went wrong'?" Lyssa asked and Lorne looked at her.

"I entered the wormhole and everything was proceeding as normal until what seemed like a bolt of lightening hit the Jumper and I was knocked out. When I regained consciousness, I was here...I guess I crash landed. I've been here for a couple of weeks now..."

Statham regarded Lorne carefully, trying to gauge if the man was lying or not.

He glanced at Ellie before standing.

"Franks, keep an eye on the Doc," he said, then to Lorne he said, "Show us this Jumper of yours then."

Lorne nodded, deciding to go with it for now. He watched as Lyssa picked up his P-90, knowing that she had no idea how good it felt for him to see her again and then he began to lead the way back to where he had hidden the jumper.

"You did a good job in concealing it," Statham conceded as they approached the place. He was trying not to think about what the appearance of Major Lorne would do to Ellie...the fainting was a good indication, but what would the after-effects be?

"It took some doing...but I didnt want it to be discovered," Lorne replied, holding back the information about the other ammo that he had hidden in a different part of the forest...after all, these people might be from Atlantis, but it wasn't 'his' Atlantis.

"I thought that one day maybe i'd get it working again...." he added as an afterthought and Lyssa cocked her head to one side as she looked at him.

He was exactly like the Major Lorne that they had lost...only he wasnt theirs and she wondered what his history was. She also wondered what they would do with him. It wasn't their policy to leave him stranded here alone, but would they be able to take him back to Atlantis...and would Ellie want that?

She looked at Statham and found that he looked deep in thought, probably mulling over the same thing in his mind 'What do they do with this Lorne now that they had found him?'

**OoOoOoO**

Ellie opened her eyes and blinked rapidly.

"Welcome back," Lt. Franks said and she looked at him, her brow furrowing.

"Matthew what's going on?" she asked, "Am I losing my mind or was my late husband just here?"

Franks helped her to stand and shook his head.

"It was Major Lorne Doc, but he says he's from another Atlantis, one that's been destroyed by the Genii in a surprise attack...he says he is the only survivor."

Ellie rubbed her eyes.

"Did he mention...me...at all?" she asked and Franks avoided her eyes as he shook his head, he knew it must be painful for her.

"No...he didnt really mention anyone before Major Statham headed off with him to check out the Jumper that he so called crashed here in."

"Right..." Ellie replied. "Should we go find them now i'm awake again?" she asked him, but Franks looked at her dubiously.

"Do you think that's such a good idea?"

Ellie sighed and composed herself. "Sure...what's the worst that can happen?"

Franks nodded and they headed off in the direction that the others had gone.

**OoOoOoO**

Statham looked over the Jumpers' consoles and sighed.

"Looks like you're right...this thing seems fried. I could get Ellie to take a look...maybe she could get it going enough for you to get through the gate and to wherever you were headed before," he said, not really wanting Major Lorne to come back with them to their Atlantis for obvious reasons.

Lorne nodded, but Lyssa shook her head.

"But if he left through the gate now he would need whatever hit him the last time to hit him again, otherwise he'll still be in this universe...not back in his own..."

"That's true," Lorne said, offering her a soft smile which she instantly felt uncomfortouble with in a way she couldnt pin point.

"Right...the whole solar flare thing..." Statham said and Lyssa nodded, thinking Ellie would be proud that they listened to her techo-babble once in a while.

Just then Ellie and Franks joined them at the back of the jumper and Statham moved to Ellie's side.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" he asked, noting that her eyes were already on Lorne.

"I'm alright, thanks..." she said, clearing her throat before venturing, "So what's going on?"

Lyssa stepped forward and said, "This Major Lorne is from a parallel universe...his jumper got hit as he was gating to an address from his Atlantis...we're thinking solar flare."

Ellie nodded as Statham squoze her shoulder.

"You feel up to taking a look at the consoles, see if you can get it up and running again?" he asked, hoping that if she got the Jumper going they could maybe just let Lorne go on his own merry way, even if he was in the wrong universe.

"Sure," Ellie said, "but from the sounds of it, even if I do get the Jumper operational again, it wont matter as if he...you..." she paused, looking at Statham again and then back to Lorne before continuing, "did get hit by a solar flare then we would need to trace and time another one before you could get back to where you came from and even then there are no guarantees that it would work, you could end up being vapourised."

Lorne folded his arms across his chest.

"To be honest...I have nothing to go back to my universe for...Atlantis has been destroyed and I have no way of contacting my SGC even if I did get back to the city. I have no way home, i'm stuck."

As the enormity of his realisation hit him, he sat down heavily on one of the Jumpers' benches, knowing that the others were looking at him.

"What about your Daedalus or Odyssey?" Lyssa suggested, but Lorne frowned at her.

"Also destroyed...we were tricked on a large scale...a 'very' large scale..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Jesus," Statham said as he thought about how many lives had been lost.

"You could come back to our Atlantis...with us..." Ellie suggested and Statham and Lyssa looked at her sharply.

"Provided I can get the clearance to take you there that is," Statham said, his tone none-too-pleased, a fact that Lorne picked up on, but Ellie didnt seem to.

"I'm sure it wont be a problem," she said.

"Um, Ellie, can I have a word with you...outside?" Statham said, not waiting for her response before pulling her outside and away from the Jumper.

Fate was playing a cruel trick on them that day.

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11

Date : 22.09.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 11 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU **

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ellie looked at Statham once he stopped dragging her away from the Jumper that belonged to the 'other' Lorne.

"What's wrong?" she asked as he ran a hand over his face in an agitated fashion.

"Ellie, you cant go offering to take this guy back to Atlantis like you just did…Woolsey could say it's a no go…or Sheppard…" he trailed off as he saw the look on her face.

"Look…I know he looks like Lorne…but he isn't…" he stopped as Ellie made a strange noise in the back of her throat.

"You think I want to take him back to Atlantis because he 'looks' like Evan?" she asked, sounding hurt and incredulous.

"I know you miss him still," Statham said, unable to keep the defensive tone out of his own voice and it forced Ellie to look away from him.

"I realise that he isn't 'my' Evan…but what would you have us do Frank, leave him here alone?" she asked and Statham sighed deeply as she added, "He's lost everyone…"

"Damn it Ellie I don't know…I'll need to run this by Woolsey like I said," he replied, his tone gentler now and Ellie folded her arms across her chest, nodding but still avoiding his eyes.

"Do you…I mean…are you really alright with this?" Statham asked, "I realise it must be hard seeing him again…"

"Well, like you said, it's not 'him' though is it," Ellie replied stiffly and when Statham sighed again she added, "and I'm fine. It was just a shock seeing him, it just…well, it was hard, but hey, parallel universes are a hazard of the job right."

Statham reached out tentatively and cupped her cheek and finally she met his eyes and he thought that it was a pity that he couldn't read what he saw in hers.

"I'll head back to the gate and radio Atlantis, you stay here with Lyssa and Franks and…our friend there," he said and she nodded, watching as he headed away.

**oooooo**

When Ellie and Statham had gone outside, Lyssa and Franks had stood awkwardly for a moment until Lorne had said,

"So…earlier, when you said that I was her problem," and he indicated toward Ellie with his head, "what did you mean by that?"

Lyssa looked at Ellie and Statham for a moment before turning back to Lorne.

"She and our you were married. Around a year ago, you…he…was killed by the Wraith. Ellie is really only just getting herself together," she replied and Lorne raised his eyebrows and shook his head lightly, looking back out toward Ellie.

"So the other me and her…they were happy?" he asked and Lyssa frowned at the question.

"Very much so, they adored one another," she replied and Lt. Franks chuckled.

"Yeah, I used to wind Major Lorne up saying that they made the cutest couple, but really he didn't care what people thought, he loved her with everything he had…" he trailed off, also looking out toward Ellie where Statham was just cupping her face with his hand.

"Its bizarre Y'know," Lorne said, almost to himself. "My Ellie and I were married too for a while, but we ended up getting divorced. She drove me insane and I…I realised that scientists and I just don't mix."

Franks and Lyssa stared at him as though he had suddenly sprouted wings and tried to fly away.

Eventually Franks found his voice first and said, "So after you and the Doc divorced, did you start to see anyone else?" he just couldn't imagine Lorne with anyone but Ellie.

Lorne suddenly looked uncomfortable and he shifted in his seat as he cleared his throat.

"Actually yeah…my Lyssa and I had been dating for a couple of months when this happened…" he trailed off as the pain of losing her and everyone else threatened to devour him again and he sucked in a breath of air.

Lyssa had gone white and she turned away as Ellie began to head back toward the Jumper.

**ooo**

Ellie stepped back up the ramp of the Jumper and sensed the tension right away.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"Everything's just peachy," Franks replied, sounding overly cheerful even to his own ears, but he kept a smile plastered to his face as Ellie frowned up at him.

"Um, Frank has gone to radio Atlantis to tell them about you and to see what they say," she said, looking at Lorne and he nodded at her.

"Right…thank you," he replied and she forced herself to drag her eyes away from him, scared by the effort it took though.

After a few moments silence, Lorne said, "So…Frank…" he began and Lyssa interjected,

"Major Statham…"

"Major Statham," Lorne corrected before continuing, "He is the other me's replacement…you are SGA-2 I take it?"

Ellie wanted to say that Evan couldn't be replaced, but logically she knew what he meant and so she replied,

"That's right and yes, we are SGA-2. Were you the leader of your SGA-2?"

"Yeah…I was," he said, smiling as though reliving good times in his head.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ellie said quietly and he looked at her.

"And I'm sorry for yours…"

Ellie blanched a little as she realised that Lyssa or Franks must have told him about Evan, but she kept her composure and managed a,

"Thank you."

Lorne nodded, his eyes straying to Lyssa who was showing a great deal of fascination with her P-90.

Ellie followed his line of vision and said,

"Lyssa…are you alright?"

Lyssa forced a smile for her friend and replied, "Yep, I'm good…just wanting to get back to Atlantis now…" she replied and Ellie nodded, thinking that Lyssa was acting a little off, but she reasoned that seeing Lorne again wouldn't just be a shock for her, but to others who had known and liked him too.

"You sure you want to come back to our Atlantis with us...if we get the go ahead that is?" Franks asked and both Ellie and Lyssa held their breath, but for different reasons, as they waited for Lorne's response.

Lorne raked a hand through his hair as he considered his options. He could stay on this planet, alone and fending for himself or he could go back with these people who looked so much like the people he longed to see again and try to build some kind of future with them.

"I think i'd like to give it a go, yes," he replied eventually and whilst Ellie visibly relaxed, Lyssa tensed up even further.

She knew that when Ellie found out that this Lorne had been dating his Lyssa, it would upset her and she just felt that the whole idea of taking him back to Atlantis was a bad one and could really lead to no good. She hoped that she was wrong, for everyone's sake.

**ooooooooo**

"Are you kidding me...another Lorne...is Ellie alright?" Sheppard asked after Statham had relayed what had happened.

"She's holding her own for now, but i'm not so sure that it's a good idea we bring him back Sir, I just...I know its what she wants, to save this Lorne...but..." he trailed off, knowing that he was letting his own growing feelings for Ellie interfere with his judgement on rescuing this 'stranger'.

He heard Sheppard sigh and then Woolsey's voice came through.

"I understand where you're coming from Major, but it could be useful to know how the Genii tricked them in such a spectacular fashion. We dont want the same thing to happen to us do we..." he said and Statham cursed under his breath.

Sheppard sighed again and said,

"Bring him back, put him straight in one of the Brig interview rooms and we'll take it from there."

"Sir," Statham said to show he'd heard the command before cutting the connection and heading back to the hidden Jumper with a heavy heart.

**ooooooooo**

As Statham approached the back of the Jumper, everyone looked in his direction as he said,

"Okay, we have a go..."

Ellie blew out a breath and said, "Woolsey agreed then?"

"Yeah, they're interested in knowing what happened with the Genii," Statham replied, looking to Lorne he said, "You got any stuff you want to take with you?"

Lorne stood and said, "Not really, but the ammo may come in useful if you want it..."

"No point in leaving it for someone else to find it," Statham said, then looking to Ellie, Lyssa and Franks instructed, "Grab all you can carry."

As they did as they were told, grabbing what ammo he had in the Jumper Lorne said,

"I have more weapons and ammo buried in another spot in the forest..."

Statham shook his head, "I'll get another team sent back for that, you can draw them a map..."

Lorne nodded tightly, sensing that Major Statham wasn't overly keen on the plan to take him back to Atlantis with them and he wondered if it had anything to do with Ellie.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Statham asked, glancing around and when they all mumbled their agreement, he led the way out of the jumper.

"Franks you lead the way, I'll bring up the rear, rest of you in the middle," he said, his tone brooking no argument.

As they headed back to the gate they were all thinking the same thing, that fate was a very strange thing indeed.

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12

Date : 26.09.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 12 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU **

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ellie's knuckles turned white as she gripped the window railing of the observation room above where Sheppard and Statham were interviewing the other Lorne.

He had given them information chapter and verse about what had happened with the Genii and Sheppard had admitted that what he had told them could probably save this Atlantis, if the Genii were to attack it in such a way, although at the moment the two were allies.

"So were we…or so we thought," Lorne had commented.

After that Lorne had been questioned about other things…his role on the other Atlantis, the chain of command on the other Atlantis, his personal life on the other Atlantis…and this was where Ellie had started to feel a little sick.

He had just revealed the details of his divorce to 'his' Ellie and his new, and what had been blossoming, relationship with 'his' Lyssa.

Her mind whirled as Sheppard began to explain to Lorne that obviously he was welcome to stay on this Atlantis once he had been cleared by Keller, but that he would be guarded for a while and obviously he couldn't carry out any military duties for now as he wasn't 'their' Lorne and therefore they had to start to trust him first before any of that could start to take place and even then he would have to undergo training and other physical and psychological examinations.

"I understand Sir," Lorne replied, "We'd have done the same thing if your Lorne had turned up in our universe."

As Sheppard nodded and began to instruct Statham to take Lorne to the infirmary to get checked out, Ellie turned away from the glass, starting as she saw Lyssa was stood in the doorway behind her.

She'd had no idea that her friend had been there.

"Hey," she said, her voice sounding shaky, "You made me jump."

"Sorry," Lyssa replied, eyeing her cautiously before continuing, "So…are you alright?"

Ellie sighed and folded her arms.

"I guess…he and I…well, the other me…they're divorced."

"Right," Lyssa replied, unsure if to tell Ellie that she already knew, but before she had the chance to, Ellie said,

"He was dating the other you when the attack happened."

Lyssa took a ragged breath and moved from one foot to the other uncomfortably as she replied,

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I don't know…" Ellie replied. "Kinda confused I guess. You and I…we're so different despite us being best friends…I suppose…oh, I don't know…" she trailed off, running a hand over her face tiredly.

"Why don't you go and get some rest? This must have knocked the wind out of you some…" Lyssa suggested.

Ellie glanced back down to the interview room and found that it was now empty and she realised that they had already gone to the infirmary.

"I was going to follow them to the infirmary and see how he gets on there," she told her friend.

"Ellie…do you think that's such a good idea?" Lyssa asked and Ellie frowned.

"Why?"

"Well…why don't you let them settle him in and then see how the land lies in a few days?" Lyssa said.

"But I…I feel like I need to talk to him…to…just look at him…" she shook her head, knowing it sounded silly.

Lyssa moved to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ellie…you have to remember that…as much as he looks like your Evan…he isn't…and don't forget Frank…have you even thought about how he's feeling right now?"

Ellie's eyes snapped to Lyssa's and she replied,

"Has he said something to you?"

Lyssa shook her head, "No, but I can see its bothering him…the double of your late husband just showed up and you and him are in a relationship now…" she stopped as Ellie moved away from her and her hand dropped back to her side.

"Frank isn't like that…we're just…sleeping together, you know that as well as he does. Even you told me to watch him, that he's not the caring type," Ellie said a little too snappily for Lyssa's liking and she felt her hackles rise.

"Look, Ellie, all I'm saying is be careful around this new Lorne…I don't want to see you hurt."

Ellie nodded, but the look on her face told Lyssa that she was still going to go to the infirmary anyway.

Sighing again she said,

"I'll come with you."

Ellie nodded and they left the observation room together.

**OoOoOoO**

In the infirmary, Statham watched as Dr. Keller started the examination on new Lorne.

"I'll be right over here," he told them, joining two other on duty marines at the doors.

About ten minutes in he turned to one of them.

"I need to pee…watch him," he instructed and then headed off to the infirmary bathrooms.

Just as he disappeared, Ellie and Lyssa arrived.

"I'm just going to hang on out here," Lyssa said, smiling at the two marines whom she knew from her sparring sessions with Ronon.

Ellie nodded and moved inside the infirmary, looking for Lorne.

She was just passing a curtained off area, when the curtain was whipped back and he was revealed to her by Keller and he was now in infirmary scrubs and in bed.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes locking with his and Keller smiled.

"Our new Major Lorne here is a little too dehydrated for my liking and I'm running some blood tests too…so I'm just going to keep him in over night to be on the safe side," she said, smiling at Ellie as Lorne said,

"Beats having to have a night in the Brig."

Ellie nodded as Keller patted her shoulder and the doctor briefly wondered whether Ellie should really be there. Deciding to leave her for now she said,

"I'll be right back," and left the two alone.

"So..." Lorne ventured when Ellie merely stared at him. "Looks like I'm able to stay..."

"Yes..." Ellie replied, edging closer to the side of his bed.

Lorne regarded her as she continued to stare at him and he shifted a little uncomfortoubly and cleared his throat.

"Are you alright?" he asked, "I realise this must be a little hard for you...seeing me..." he stopped as Ellie suddenly reached out and touched his face with her fingertips.

Ellie felt her heart begin to beat a little faster and she quickly pulled her hand away as if he'd burnt her.

"I'm sorry..." she said.

Lorne smiled at her. "It's alright...I feel the same way about Lyssa..." he said, his eyes straying to the doorway of the infirmary.

Ellie felt like he had slapped her in the face and she had to fight to keep her composure.

Her common sense told her that it wasnt his fault, that he had never loved her, that it wasnt her Lorne that was longing for her best friend instead of her, but her heart told her otherwise.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice no more than a whisper as she whirled away and headed for the doors, tears pooling in her eyes.

Lorne watched her go, frowning.

oooo

Statham left the bathroom and just saw Ellie moving away from Lorne's bedside.

He approached quickly, his voice stern as he asked,

"What did you say to her?"

"Nothing!" Lorne replied, his frown deepening as Major Statham cursed colourfully before heading after Ellie.

oooo

Lyssa jumped as Ellie crashed through the doors and all but ran down the corridor.

"Ellie!?" she said, about to follow her when Statham barelled through the infirmary exit too.

He glanced at Lyssa and said,

"I'll go..."

Lyssa nodded and watched him jog after Ellie who had just turned the corner up ahead.

Statham caught up to Ellie and grabbed her arm to stop her running.

"Hey, what's going on...what did he say to you?" he asked, his brow furrowing when he saw her tears.

"Nothing," Ellie replied, avoiding his eyes.

"Bullshit nothing!" he swore and Ellie looked at him.

"It wasn't his fault, it's me..." she said, swiping at her tears angrily, annoyed with herself.

"Okay, so what did you say to him?" Statham asked, stabbing around in the dark as he tried to figure out what had upset her other than just seeing another Lorne in the flesh again.

"Nothing, look Frank...just leave it...please..." she said and he released her arm and looked at her.

"Alright, if that's what you want," he said, not feeling very happy when Ellie nodded,

"Yes, it is."

They looked at each other for a moment and Statham had the overwhelming feeling that he was losing her.

_'Not that you ever really had her, right?' _he said to himself. Their relationship wasnt like that.

"I'm going to head to my room," she said and he nodded.

"I should get back to the infirmary."

"Right..." Ellie replied, turning away and as she walked away from him, Sthatham had a feeling in his gut that told him that from that moment on, their relationship was going to change...whether it be for good or bad, he wasnt yet sure.

ooooooo

Lyssa debated whether to go in and see new Lorne or not, but as she looked at him through the glass of the infirmary doors and saw how utterly alone he looked, she decided to go and talk to him for a little while.

His face brightened instantly as she approached his bedside and Lyssa's insides gave an uneasy twitch.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her.

"Hi...how are you doing?" she replied, half returning his smile, not wanting to seem overly friendly.

"I'm dehydrated apparently and Doc Keller is running some blood tests so decided to keep me in overnight...its just a precaution," he told her and she nodded.

"Is Ellie alright?" he asked. "She didnt say much before she took off..."

"Frank has gone after her...I think she's just a little in shock, seeing you and all," Lyssa said, then added, "I think she's still a lot more fragile where you...the other you is concerned...than she realises. She and Evan were inseperable."

Lorne nodded.

"The other her and me...we just weren't like that. Not even in the beginning," he said and Lyssa frowned as he continued, "My Ellie was quite a hard woman, never really let anyone in," he shrugged and looked at her, "Sometimes I wonder how we even ended up together."

Lyssa's eyes widened and she folded her arms as she thought how different the other Ellie sounded to hers.

"How did your Ellie react to your being with the other me?" she asked and Lorne smiled.

"Believe it or not, she actually set us up."

Lyssa mouth opened but no sound came out. Eventually she managed to croak, "Really?"

"Yeah," Lorne replied, his eyes twinkling at her before he said, "Are you...with anyone right now?" and colour tinged his cheekbones as he realised he perhaps shouldn't have been so forward, it was just that he felt so at ease with her.

"Um...no...but..." she trailed off gratefully as Statham re-entered the infirmary and headed for the bed.

"Ellie's gone to her room," he informed Lyssa, glaring at Lorne for a second before saying "Will you check on her in a little while?"

"Sure...in fact i'll head that way now," she replied, wanting to get away from the conversation she had been about to get into with new Lorne.

Statham nodded and walked with her to the door.

"I'll see you," she offered to Lorne over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Yeah," Lorne replied a little glumly, raising a hand to her as she left.

ooooo

Lyssa tapped her ear piece as she headed for the quarters' level.

"Ellie?" she said.

In her room, Ellie was just getting undressed and she pressed her own ear piece.

"Hey," she replied, sounding weary.

"You want me to stop by? Are you alright?" Lyssa asked.

"No Lyss, it's okay...i'm going to have a shower and head to bed...but thanks," Ellie replied and Lyssa sighed before replying,

"Okay, well, i'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, night Lyss," Ellie replied before removing her head piece and tossing it onto the bedside drawers.

As she headed for the shower, Lyssa headed for her own room, wanting to end this particular day too.

ooooo

Much later, Statham hovered outside of Ellie's room for the longest time.

With a deep sigh he moved away and walked to his own quarters...this would be the first night that they had spent apart since their 'just having sex' pact and he wasnt sure he liked it. Ellie knew where he was if she wanted him though and he figured she needed some space right now.

Sometimes fate was a bitch!

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 13

Date : 05.10.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 13 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU **

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ellie awoke the next morning and frowned when she found that she was alone.

Although a part of her had had a feeling that Statham would stay away last night, a part of her had hoped that he wouldn't.

She sighed and throwing back the bed covers, got out of the bed and padded over to the balcony doors. She opened one and stepped out, the ocean breeze hitting her in the face.

She looked out at the water for a moment, letting her mind wander where it would. She had always loved being by the sea at home, the infinite mass of water always had a calming effect and made one think that life's problems weren't so bad after all.

She remembered hers and Evan's honeymoon. They had enjoyed lots of walks along the beach. In her mind's eye she saw him reaching out for her as she darted away to avoid the waves that crashed onto the sand and then he had caught her, his kiss making her melt…

Ellie turned away from the view of the ocean abruptly and walked back inside, swiping at the tears that she hadn't known had started to fall until she had felt one roll down her cheek and she had tasted the salty liquid.

'Why has the other Evan come here?' she wondered, feeling angry. 'Is it fate or just some cruel joke?'

She shook her head, deciding that she needed to get a grip on herself.

'Its neither,' she told herself firmly as she headed into the bathroom. 'It's the fact that there are lots of other universes out there and every now and again, a solar flare decides to screw up and introduce them to one another.'

As she showered she made the decision to stay out of new Lorne's way for a while. He needed time to settle in and she needed time to get used to the idea that he was staying. There was of course all the other things that that entailed, such as seeing him every day and knowing that she didn't have the right to touch him - he 'wasn't' hers - and knowing that he yearned for Lyssa and that it wasn't her best friends' fault.

And then there was Frank Statham.

Lyssa had been right when she had said that Ellie hadn't given much thought to how he had been feeling and she felt a stab of guilt. Why, she wasn't quite sure as she knew that Frank didn't see their relationship as anything more than a casual one.

As she dried off and moved to the bedroom, she glanced at the clock by the bed and saw that she might just catch him in time to have breakfast with him.

She dressed quickly and headed out to his quarters, wafting her hand over the buzzer part of the door panel.

She frowned when she got no answer and buzzed again.

Sighing she realised that he must have already left and just as she went to turn away from his door, Lyssa jogged around the corner up ahead.

"Hey, how you doing?" her friend asked and she came to a halt at her side.

"I'm okay," Ellie replied and Lyssa indicated to Statham's door as she caught her breath.

"He's in the gym, I saw him as I ran past."

"Thanks," Ellie said, thinking that she should get some exercise at some point.

"Um, Ellie, last night in bed I was thinking…about this new Evan…" Lyssa ventured and Ellie regarded her a little warily.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I was thinking that I should talk to him, clear the air about me and him…well, I mean the other me and him. I don't want him to think that there's a chance, because you know that there isn't…right?" Lyssa looked at her worriedly and Ellie shook her head and touched a hand to her friend's arm.

"Lyssa…I know that and you don't have to speak to him because of me, if you don't want to that is…"

Lyssa took Ellie's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I want to talk to him, he looked so lost in the infirmary last night…so alone…but then when I walked in he seemed to brighten up and I just don't want him to think…" she trailed off as she felt Ellie stiffen and she realised that her friend hadn't known that she had gone in to see Evan once she had left to go to her quarters.

"Anyway," she rushed on, "I just want to make things clear, then he can move on with his new life."

Ellie nodded, digesting the new information.

After a few seconds silence, she said,

"I should let you get a shower and go find Frank, he didn't stay with me last night…" she trailed off and cleared her throat before saying, "I wanted to see if he wanted to get breakfast with me."

"I'm sure you'll catch him if you head to the gym now," Lyssa said and Ellie smiled.

"Yeah, I'll catch you later," she replied, moving away from her friend, not wanting to know when Lyssa planned to talk to the new Lorne.

Lyssa waved and headed to her own quarters, feeling nervous about going to see Lorne, but knowing she would feel so much better once it was done.

000

Statham stepped out of the shower in the gym and reached for a towel. He had given himself a hard workout that morning, trying to rid his mind of thoughts of Ellie and new Lorne.

He knew that some of the other men and lots of the women on Atlantis were now speculating about his and Ellie's 'relationship' and it bugged him and he hated that.

He liked to know where he was with a woman. He liked to be in control, but with Ellie it had always felt different, like she held all the aces.

Scowling he pulled his spare uniform from his locker and dressed quickly, shoving his gym clothing inside before locking it with a wave of his hand.

'Maybe I should break things off with her for a while and see how things go…' he thought, but he didn't like the way his gut twisted at the idea and he sighed as he left the gym.

He had just turned the corner at the top of the corridor when he ran into the object of his thoughts and he gripped her waist as she banged into him.

"Hey," Ellie said, looking up at him. "I was just coming to find you."

"Well, here I am, you found me," Statham replied, unable to keep the slight tinge of sarcasm out of his tone and he looked away, annoyed with himself more than her and his hands dropped away from her waist.

Ellie frowned and she bit her lip.

"I wondered if you wanted to have breakfast with me…I uh…" she paused, wondering if to tell him her thoughts, after all, what she was thinking was partially true…

Statham looked at her, waiting for her to finish and she cleared her throat and admitted,

"I missed you not being with me last night."

Statham blew out a breath at her words and he cursed himself for wanting her so badly…it wasn't his style.

"Alright," he replied, "But we need to sit somewhere out of the way and talk a few things over."

Ellie nodded, wondering what it was that he wanted to say, although she had an idea it would have something to do with new Lorne.

"Okay," she agreed and they headed to the mess hall.

**OoOoOoO**

Lyssa nervously made her way to the infirmary and once she arrived she peered through the glass in the doors again, just to see how things looked first.

The place seemed fairly empty, just Keller and one other nurse ambling around and just two other marines in beds, but they were on the other side of the infirmary from where new Lorne was positioned.

He still had marines guarding him, but they were stood inside, just to the left of the infirmary doors.

Yet again the thought struck her as to how lonely he looked and she watched as he picked at his breakfast tray.

Taking a deep breath she pushed the doors open and went inside.

She nodded to the two guards and headed for Lorne's bed.

"Morning," she said and he looked up, his blue eyes instantly sparkling at her.

"Hey," he replied, putting his fork down.

"No, please, finish eating," Lyssa said, but he shook his head.

"I've had enough for now," he told her, "Doc Keller told me it might take a day or two before I can eat normally what with eating so little the last few weeks."

Lyssa nodded and moved his tray to the table at the bottom of his bed for him so that she could rest her hip against the side of the bed.

"I ahh, I wondered if I could talk to you…" she said, hesitantly and Lorne nodded.

"Sure."

"It's going to sound silly…and I don't want to upset or offend you…" Lyssa began, stopping when Lorne held up a hand.

"It's okay, I think I know what you are going to say," he told her.

"You do?" she asked and he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"You're going to tell me that you don't feel the same way for me as my Lyssa did…and that's okay, I don't expect you to. It would have been nice, but I get it…"

Lyssa regarded him for a moment and could tell that despite his words, he was hurting inside.

"I'm sorry," she offered and he shook his head.

"Don't be…it's not your fault," he replied, offering her another weak smile.

Lyssa looked at him, contemplating his words.

"Look, Evan…I can see that you're hurting about this, maybe I should leave you alone.." she trailed off as he grabbed her hand.

"No…you don't have to go…" he said and she nodded, looking down at their hands and he released hers.

"I'm sorry," he said and she couldn't help but touch a hand to his face.

"It's fine…really," she assured him.

Lorne covered her hand with his and closed his eyes as he leant into her touch.

"I miss her so much," he said and Lyssa felt a lump form in her throat.

She wished that there was something that she could say or do to help him through his grieving.

"I'm here…if you ever want to talk about her…or any of the others from your world," she offered and he opened his eyes.

"Thanks."

Lyssa nodded and as he straightened his head, she gently pulled her hand away from his face.

They looked at one another for a moment before Evan smiled gently,

"I still cant believe that the other me and Ellie were so happily married," he said and Lyssa sighed.

"What happened, between you and your Ellie…? You said she was quite a hard woman…why was that?" she asked.

Lorne frowned.

"She was obsessed with her work, wouldn't let anything stand in between her and her goal of becoming better than McKay…she had no time for me towards the end of our marriage, I think that's why she pushed Lyssa and me toward one another after the divorce...she felt guilty."

"But how did you even end up together in the first place?" Lyssa queried.

"I think she was lonely…and being a Major can be too," he smiled wryly at her before continuing, "I found her attractive don't get me wrong, but in the end our personalities clashed too much."

Lyssa shook her head.

"She sounds nothing like my Ellie…"

Lorne sighed and just then Keller approached them. The Doctor smiled at Lyssa before saying,

"Right then Major, final checks before I release you to your new home…"

"Great," Lorne replied, his eyes on Lyssa as she moved away.

"I'll catch up with you soon alright?" she said and he nodded, watching her until Keller blocked his view with the curtain.

**OoOoOoO**

Ellie and Statham took their breakfast trays out to the mess hall's outer terrace and sat at one of the tables overlooking the ocean. It was the only place that they could see where they would be alone.

"So..." Ellie began, taking a sip of her coffee as she watched Statham push his scrambled eggs around his plate.

Statham put his fork down and looked at her...really looked at her...before saying,

"What are we doing Ellie?"

Ellie looked back at him and smiled, but it didnt reach her eyes.

"We're having breakfast."

Statham raked a hand across his incredibly short hair and blew out a frustrated breath.

"Sorry..." Ellie said, seeing that he obviously in no mood to joke.

"This agreement we have..." Statham said. "How do you feel about that now...is it still what you want?"

Ellie looked away from him for a moment and out to the ocean as she considered her answer and he watched her, wondering what she would say.

Eventually she looked back at him and replied,

"Are you only asking me this now because the other Evan has turned up, or is it because you want out?"

Statham regarded her closely, then cursed colourfully and Ellie blinked at him.

"I dont want out...but do you?" he asked, ignoring the 'Evan' part and Ellie shook her head.

"No...I dont...so now we have establised that, what is the problem?" she asked, knowing just by looking at him that something was bugging him.

"Do the same rules still apply?" he asked and Ellie rested her arms on the table before her.

"You mean the 'exclusive' part...just me and you...no-one else...?"

Statham nodded and she frowned at him.

"Is there something you want to tell me...?" she asked. "Last night did you...?" she trailed off, the thought of Statham sleeping with another woman alarming her more than she thought possible and she felt the colour drain from her face.

"No!" Statham replied, seeing the look on her face and he reached out and cupped her cheek with his palm. "It's nothing like that...its just...hell Ellie, i'm not real good at stuff like this..." he shook his head and Ellie bit her lip.

"Just say it Frank..whatever is on your mind, just tell me."

Statham warred with himself for a moment or two before blurting,

"I want you Ellie...properly...none of this stupid agreement crap," he looked away, pulling his hand from her face and Ellie could tell that it had taken a lot for him to say what he just had.

Her heart fluttered a bit and a smile crept onto her face as she said,

"Frank...are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

Statham looked at her, relaxing when her saw her expression.

"Yes, I guess I am," he replied.

"Then my answer is yes," Ellie answered.

Fate was really taking a twist lately.

End of Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 14

Date : 09.10.2009

Title : The Fate Series : Part 1 - A Touch of Fate

Author : ElaineDex

Chapter : 14 of ?

Rating : M

Pairings : Lt. Colonel John Sheppard/OC

Major Evan Lorne/OC

Warnings : Some Sexual Content, Romance, Angst, Maybe Some Strong Language.

Feedback : Yes please, always welcome whatever it may be.

Disclaimer : Dr. Ellie Lorne, and any O/C's are mine. Lyssa Hunter belongs to Kazavid and is from her Atlantis stories Behind The Mask and Reunions. Lexi Roberts was created by Soccer-Bitch. Stargate Atlantis, unfortunately, has nothing to do with me.

**Summary : AU : Lorne is gone for good this time and Ellie must move on with her life. There'll be no second chances this time, no way around them being parted…or is there…and is that what Ellie and Lorne for that matter, really wants?**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

**A/N : My O/C's are in this story quite predominantly at one point and I do apologise for that, but I felt it necessary for the series to work. Hopefully though, you'll like them enough to continue to read on and enjoy what they're getting up to! There are of course all the old favourites in here and a newbie or two…oh and remember…forget the Ellie and Lorne's of the past, this is another AU **

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sheppard watched as Lorne hit the target in the firing range over and over until there was no ammo left in his P-90.

They both removed their ear defenders and Sheppard folded his arms across his chest, nodding in approval.

"Very good…you're even a slightly better shot than our Lorne used to be," he commented, albeit a little grudgingly and Lorne grinned.

"Thank you Sir…"

When Lorne had been released from the infirmary a week ago he had been issued with his own quarters, but had then had to go through every test that Sheppard and Woolsey could conjure up and they ranged from medical to psychological to everything military. Woolsey had even had the SGC send an old exam through, one similar to the one that Lorne would have had to have sat in order to graduate when he was training in the air force.

He of course passed everything with flying colours and both Woolsey and Sheppard had to concede that everything about new Lorne checked out.

Sheppard unfolded his arms and slapped the Major on the shoulder.

"Right, well, congratulations…I'll tell the men watching you to stand down and see about getting you on the roster for some duties around the city…" he stopped, but when Lorne went to speak he held up a hand and said, "Remember, we'll still be watching you…any funny business and you're gone."

Lorne nodded.

"I understand Sir…and thank you…this means a lot to me…"

Sheppard made a grunting noise, the kind he made when he felt marginally embarrassed or uncomfortable.

"I never turn away a good man Major and Atlantis needs as many as it can get…now go and enjoy some freedom, oh and go see McKay or Ellie and have them issue you with a laptop and an email address then I can have Chuck send you your work schedule later."

"Thank you Sir," Lorne replied, handing Sheppard the P-90 before heading for the door.

When the two marines, who had been stood outside of the room, went to follow him, Sheppard waved his hand at them.

"Dismissed guys, stand down," he said and the two men nodded and left in the opposite direction, no doubt glad to be relieved to be rid of the task of following Lorne around twenty four seven.

As Sheppard began to put the P-90 away and clear the room of spent cartridges, Lyssa walked in.

She stopped when she saw him, but no Lorne.

"Oh…has Major Lorne's training finished?" she asked and Sheppard nodded.

"Yeah, he's a free man," he replied, regarding her.

He remembered that new Lorne had been involved with his Lyssa and for some reason, the thought that this Lyssa could be interested in the Major irked him.

"Did you need him for anything in particular?" he asked, locking the cabinet with the guns and ammo in and turning back to face her.

"No, not really, I just wanted to see how he got on. I think he's lonely and I've just been trying to make the effort to make him feel welcome…like he fits in," Lyssa replied and Sheppard smiled.

"That's good of you…I just hope he doesn't get the wrong idea…I mean, unless you want him to?"

"No!" Lyssa replied, a little too quickly for even her own liking, but she didn't want Sheppard to think that she was interested in new Lorne.

Sheppard's smile widened.

"Have dinner with me?" he said impulsively and he could see immediately that he had shocked her.

"Or not…" he added, grimacing slightly, about to turn away when he heard her say,

"I'd like that…but…I thought you were with Lexi?"

At the thought of his ex, the clingy nurse from the infirmary, Sheppard shook his head.

"We broke up, she had family troubles back on earth and it was best for us to make a clean break before she went," he told her and Lyssa nodded.

Before she could change her mind, Sheppard said,

"I'll come by your quarters for you say, seven-ish, that okay with you?"

"Sure," Lyssa said, heading for the door before he could see her face turn completely scarlet with a mixture of excitement, fear and embarrassment. "See you tonight."

She needed to see Ellie.

**OoOoOoO**

Lorne wanted to explore the city, curiosity wanted him to find out for himself if all of his favourite spots around and about where the same as on his Atlantis.

First he decided to get the laptop and email address sorted and so he headed in the direction of the science labs, wondering if he would see Ellie there and he wondered how she was holding up as he hadn't seen sight nor sound of her all week.

Lyssa on the other hand, had kept popping by to see him, an effort that he appreciated greatly even if it meant that he had to force himself to not reach out and grab her each time he saw her.

He entered the lab to find no sign of Ellie, just McKay and Zelenka arguing heatedly.

"Nothing changes," he muttered and the two scientists stopped jabbering to turn and look at him.

"Can we help you Major?" McKay asked, glancing over Lorne's shoulder as though looking for someone.

"It's okay Doc, the Colonel has cleared me…so no more guards. He told me to come here so that you could issue me with a laptop and email address," Lorne informed him and McKay nodded.

"Right, right…" he replied, still feeling a little odd at seeing another Lorne around the place.

"That is good news," Zelenka said, smiling at Lorne.

"It is," Lorne answered, feeling like the Czech genuinely meant what he said and Lorne had to admit that out of all the scientists he had know back on his Atlantis, Zelenka had always been the most amenable.

McKay dug into a store cupboard behind him and produced a laptop.

"Here," he said, handing it to Lorne. "That is…was…our Lorne's. The email address should work still, any problems though let me or Zelenka or Ellie, if you can find her…know."

"Thanks Doc," Lorne said, taking the laptop and leaving the lab.

When he'd gone, Zelenka turned to Rodney.

"Do you really think that you should have given him that?" he said and Rodney looked at him.

"What do you mean? Why not?" he asked.

"Well has it been wiped?" Zelenka queried and Rodney's eyes widened.

"Maybe Ellie did it…" he said and Zelenka cursed in Czech and turned away shaking his head.

**OoOoOoO**

Ellie moaned as Statham gripped her hips and buried himself deeply within her.

They had spent the biggest part of the last week holed up in Ellie's quarters, Ellie working from in there and Statham only going out to do his duties and bring back food.

Things were going well between them, despite Ellie ignoring the fact that she knew that part of the reason she hadn't wanted to leave her room all week was because she hadn't wanted to see new Lorne for fear of what she might feel when she did and she so badly wanted things to work between her and Frank.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she began to meet him thrust for thrust, forcing herself to block out everything but him.

It worked and pretty soon they were both moaning out their satisfaction as their orgasms crashed through them.

They lay there for a moment or two, Statham nibbling softly at her ear before he said,

"I should get a shower, my shift starts in…" and he glanced up at her bedside clock before continuing, "twenty minutes."

Ellie nodded and sighed, thinking that she should make a trip to the lab.

Kissing her cheek, Statham gently extracted himself from her and headed to the bathroom.

When she heard the water start to run, she sat up, running her hands through her unruly curls and then the door buzzer chimed.

Wondering who it could be she wrapped the bed sheet around herself and moved over to the door.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"Lyssa," came the response and Ellie immediately opened the door.

"Not caught you at a bad time have I?" Lyssa said, taking in her attire.

"Ten minutes ago and you would have…come on in," Ellie replied, ushering Lyssa inside before closing the door again.

"What's up?" she asked, getting back onto the bed and Lyssa followed her and sat at the bottom.

"John has asked me to have dinner with him tonight and I'm nervous."

"That's great news and you'll be fine…you two will have fun," Ellie replied and Lyssa bit her lip.

"You think so? I mean…what do I wear…what do I say…?"

Ellie smiled. "I'll drop by yours later and we'll sort out clothes, as for what you say…go with the flow, John is a funny guy and I think you'll find that once you start talking you wont be able to stop!"

"I hope you're right," Lyssa replied, hearing the water stop running in the bathroom and the next thing, Statham appeared in the doorway, a towel slung low around his hips.

"Oh hey Lyssa," he said, showing no embarrassment as he headed to the sofa where his uniform lay. "Everything alright?"

Lyssa nodded as he picked up his uniform and began to head back to the bathroom.

"She has a date tonight with Sheppard," Ellie informed him and Statham grinned.

"Really!?" he said and Lyssa pointed a finger at him.

"Not a word to him!" she warned and he smiled at her.

"My lips are sealed," he replied and Lyssa reached for a pillow from the bed and threw it at him.

He darted away, but not fast enough and the pillow caught his behind, knocking the loose towel away from his butt and he grimaced and disappeared into the bathroom hastily as she called out,

"Nice ass!"

Ellie shook her head at their antics and flopped back against her own pillows.

Lyssa's smiled faded as she turned back to her friend.

"Are you okay…really?" she asked, keeping her voice low and Ellie sighed.

"Yes…I'm fine."

"So fine that you haven't left your room all week?" Lyssa pressed and Ellie looked away.

"I'm dealing with it as best I can Lyss…" she said.

Lyssa nodded. "John has cleared Lorne for roster duties and removed the guards now."

"Right…thanks…" Ellie replied, thinking that at least if Lorne's name was now on the work schedules, she could keep a track of where he should be most times and avoid him.

"How is he?" she couldn't help asking and it was Lyssa's turn to sigh.

"Lonely…but, getting there…and dealing….like you…"

Ellie nodded.

Part of her wanted to help, but another part of her knew that she should stay away.

"Look, I'll leave you and Frank to it…John is calling for me at seven-ish, so let me know when and if you have time to talk clothes," she said standing and Ellie mentally shook herself and followed Lyssa to the door.

"I'll see you later today," she promised and Lyssa replied,

"Ok," before leaving.

Sighing deeply again, Ellie threw the bed sheet back onto the bed and headed for the bathroom.

**OoOoOoO**

Lorne took the laptop McKay had given him out to South Pier, he hadn't wanted to waste time taking it back to his quarters as he was eager to see if the view from the pier was the same as the one he had painted back on his Atlantis.

As he stepped out onto the empty pier, he sighed almost contentedly as he realised that it looked just the same.

'Maybe I could paint it again,' he thought, then realised that he had no equipment and he shook his head. 'Perhaps Colonel Sheppard will let me request some from earth one day.'

He walked to the edge of the pier and sat down, dangling his legs over the edge.

He put the laptop down by his side and stared out at the water for a while, letting the breeze and the sound of the ocean sooth him as he tried, for once, not to think about the people from his past.

Eventually he turned his head and looked down at the laptop. It was almost as if something was compelling him to boot it up.

He reached for it and opened it up. He pressed the power button, expecting nothing to happen and was surprised when it began to start loading up. He had thought the battery supply might have waned by now if it had been sat in McKay's cupboard for so long…the other him had been dead for, well…

'What did Lyssa say now?' he wondered, 'A year? More?'

The desktop background came on and he raised an eyebrow as a picture of a log cabin set deep in a snowy background came on.

Wondering what all that was about and knowing he didn't like snow, he waited a few more seconds for all the icons to appear and then he opened up the internal email.

He noted that there was nothing from Chuck or Sheppard just yet and so began to nose around.

Obviously no-one had thought to wipe the memory clear and he took the opportunity to read a few mission statement drafts that the other he had wrote and he noted that the other man had seemed slightly more thorough in his recording of events.

He thought it odd that the two of them should have their subtle differences for saying they were the same man.

Sighing he went back to the desktop and looked over the icons again. He saw one called 'Instant Chat' and he opened it up.

A small box popped up on the screen, contacts listed down one side and under that was 'History'. He clicked on that and a log of all the chats the other he had had, came up.

He moved halfway down the list, noting that most of them were to Ellie and he opened one up, curiosity getting the better of him even though he knew he shouldn't pry, but the idea of the other him and Ellie having been so loved up just didn't sit right with him due to his own failed marriage to his Ellie.

The chat read :

Ellie : You cant stay mad at me forever Evan.

Evan : Yes, I can.

Ellie : No, you cant.

Evan : Yes, I can.

Ellie : No, you cant.

Evan : Do some work Ellie.

Ellie : I cant, I cant work when you're mad at me.

Evan : Ok, so I'm not mad at you anymore.

Ellie : Yes you are.

Evan : No, I'm not.

Ellie : Yes you are.

Evan has Signed Out of Chat.

'User Name Ellie Has Logged Evan Back Into Chat'

Ellie : Don't you log off on me! You know I can access any computer…

Evan : Ellie…I swear to God…

Ellie : If I promise to make wild, passionate, abandoned love to you tonight, will you forgive me?

Evan : *Sigh*

Ellie : I'll wear that black lace…

Evan : ALRIGHT, I FORGIVE YOU!!!!!

Lorne shook his head, a smile tilting his lips and as he left that conversation and moved onto another, he wondered what exactly Evan had been mad at Ellie for.

Ellie : Do you like your new wintry desktop background?

Evan : Yes, its nice.

Ellie : Good, its where we're going for our Christmas vacation.

Evan : It is?

Ellie : Yes…

Evan : Great…I can keep you all warm and snugly…amongst other things…

Ellie : Why do you think I'm suggesting it LOL

Evan : Mmmm…can't wait.

Ellie : Me either….I love you…

Evan : I love you too.

Lorne came out of that chat too, thinking that that explained the snowy scene on the desktop. He wondered if Ellie and the other him had ever gotten to the log cabin.

He decided to leave reading the chats at that, although he was enjoying them, he didn't feel right prying into the other man's personal life.

That said, he decided to have a quick look in 'Pictures', just to see if there were any of San Francisco. Surely the other he had to have come from there too and he knew he missed home, so if he did, surely the other him must have too.

The file opened and he was greeted with a whole load of small named folders to choose from.

He picked one called 'Home' and clicked on it, but instead of pictures of San Francisco, like he somehow expected he would see, he was greeted with pictures of a house that he didn't recognise.

It looked quite large and had a front porch and with the surrounding trees it looked like a real family home. He wondered was it the other Evan's parents' home as it was quite similar to the house that he had grown up in.

He scrolled through the pictures, pausing when he came across one of Ellie. She was sat on a picnic blanket, the house in the background behind her and he figured that she was in the back garden. She had on a cream coloured sundress and her hair was down, falling in glorious waves and curls around her shoulders, the sun picking up the auburn in it.

She looked happy and relaxed and he was filled by a sudden rush of affection for her that he didn't expect.

He put the laptop down abruptly and looked back out to the ocean.

He stared at the water for the longest time again before closing the lid of the laptop, snatching it up off the floor and standing.

With one last look at the sea he shook his head and moved back toward the doorway to the pier.

It was time to forget the past and move on. This was his home now and he needed to get used to the fact that although everyone he had known was gone, they were still here…he had just had to get to know them all again.

What a strange thing fate was…

The End

Part 2 - A Twist of Fate, will follow soon, thanks for reading.


End file.
